HAWAII 

PAST   AND    PRESENT 


HAWAII 


PAST    AND    PRESENT 


By 
WILLIAM  R.  CASTLE,  JR, 

M 

Author  of  "The  Green  Vase" 


With  Illustrations 
And  A  Map 


NEW  YORK 

DODD,   MEAD  AND  COMPANY 

1913 


Copyright,  1918,  bt 
DODD,  MEAD  AND  COMPANY 

Published  March,  1913 


Wo 

MY   FATHER 

Lifelong  friend  of  the  Hawaiian  People ; 

foremost  among  those  who  have  laboured 

for  the  upbuilding  of  the  Islands — 

his  unselfish  devotion  is  the 

inspiration  of  his 

children 


262629 


PREFACE 

This  book  has  a  double  purpose :  to  tell  those  who 
stay  at  home  something  about  Hawaii,  the  young- 
est of  American  Territories  ;  and  to  help  those  who 
are  going  there  to  plan  their  trip  intelligently. 
Baedeker  has  not  yet  extended  his  labours  to  the 
Pacific  Islands,  and  no  guidebook  is  available  for 
the  traveller.  Many  books  have  been  written  about 
special  phases  of  Hawaii — its  history  or  its  com- 
merce or  its  industry — but  none  has  attempted  to 
give  concisely  a  survey  of  its  history,  its  present 
conditions,  and  its  natural  beauty.  This  book, 
therefore,  falls  naturally  into  two  divisions,  the 
first  part  explanatory,  the  second,  as  well  as  may 
be,  descriptive. 

The  information  it  contains  has  been  gathered 
from  most  diverse  sources,  books,  pamphlets,  and 
even  railroad  folders,  the  whole  checked  by  my 
own  personal  knowledge.  The  facts,  I  am  sure, 
are  accurate.  The  descriptions  are  largely  from 
my  own  observations,  and  I  have  tried  not  to  fall 
into  the  error  of  exaggeration  so  common  in  books 
of  this  kind. 

The  very  comprehensiveness  of  the  book  has 
made  it  difficult  to  write.  It  would  have  been  easy 
to  devote  all  the  space  to  discussion  of  industrial 
conditions,  or  of  the  Hawaiian  people,  or  of  the 
Volcano,  but  this  would  have  been  to  write  an  essay 

vii 


viii  PREFACE 

for  specialists.  It  would  have  been  still  easier 
to  tell  of  my  own  boyhood  experiences,  of  thrill- 
ing climbs  over  the  mountains  in  search  of  land- 
shells,  of  amusing  experiences  on  the  funny  little 
old  inter-island  boats,  but  this  would  have  resulted 
only  in  another  "Diary,"  this  time  of  a  quite 
ordinary  boy.  I  have  tried,  however,  to  keep  my- 
self in  mind  in  so  far  as  to  tell  things  as  I  myself 
have  seen  them,  expressing  so  far  as  possible  in 
the  descriptions  my  own  feelings  about  the  scenes 
described.  And  I  hope  the  book  may  do  something 
toward  stirring  in  others  an  interest  in  Hawaii,  an 
interest  which,  with  fuller  knowledge,  must  issue 
in  something  of  the  affection  for  the  Islands  that 
is  felt  by  all  of  us  who  have  there  spent  our 
childhood  days.  X- 

I  have  drawn  freely  on  Dr.  W.  J^.  Alexander's 
excellent  book,  "  A  Brief  History  of  the  Hawaiian 
People,"  and  on  Mr.  C.  W.  Baldwin's  clear  and 
accurate  "  Geography  of  the  Hawaiian  Islands," 
and  to  the  authors  of  both  these  books  I  want  to 
express  my  thanks  for  the  cordial  permission  they 
have  given  me  to  make  use  of  the  result  of  their 
study.  Most  of  all  I  must  thank  my  father,  who 
has  read  my  manuscript  and  who,  from  his  almost 
inexhaustible  knowledge  of  Hawaiian  affairs,  has 
made  suggestions  without  which  this  book  would 
hardly  have  been  possible. 

W.  R.  Castle,  Jb. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER 

PAGX 

I 

Introduction     .... 

1 

II 

The  Hawaiian  People     . 

.       13 

III 

History  to  1898 

.       30 

IV 

Hawaii  as  a  Territory   . 

.       53 

/v 

Commerce  and  Industry 

.       68 

VI 

Honolulu          .... 

84 

VII 

Oahu    . 

.     109 

VIII 

Kauai 

131 

IX 

MOLOKAI   AND   MaUI 

.     144 

X 

Hawaii 

164 

XI 

The  Volcanoes 

.     193 

XII 

Island  Life 

.     216 

Appendix     . 

231 

Index  of  Places 

.     239 

ILLUSTRATIONS 


Statue  of  Kamehameha  I 

Hawaiian  grass  house,  Kona, 
Hawaii  .         .         .         . 

Spearing  fish  at  Napoopoo, 
Hawaii        .... 

Hawaiian    surf-riding    . 

Ascending  Pali  road  six  miles 
N.  E.  of  Honolulu    . 

Executive  Building,  formerly 
the  Royal  Palace,  Honolulu 

"  Washington  Place,"  resi- 
dence of  Queen  Liliuoka- 
lani,  Honolulu    . 

Diamond  Head  and  Waikiki 
from  Punch  Bowl 

Sugar  cane  in  flower;  will 
be  ripe  and  ready  to  grind 
in  from  six  to  eight  weeks 

Oahu  sugar  mill,  near  Hono- 
lulu, cane  ready  for  grind- 
ing        

Pineapple  plantation,  Wa- 
hiawa,  Oahu 

View  of  Port  of  Honolulu  and 
Harbour ;  Nuuanu  Valley 
behind  .... 


Frontispiece 

Facing  page       8 

16 
26 

34 

46 

56 
62 

70 

76 

82 

90 


xii  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Banyan     tree     and     Royal 

Palms,  Honolulu         .        .     Facing  page     104 

Oahu  College  grounds,  show- 
ing Royal  Palm  Avenue  and 
one  of  the  school  buildings  "         "       112 

Hilo  Bay  and  town,  Mauna 
Kea,  14,000  feet  high,  in 
the  background  ...  «         «       12g 

Waianae    Mountains     across 

rice  field,  Oahu  ...  «         «       134 

Waimea    River    and    Valley, 

Kauai  ....  «         «       140 

Bridge  over  crack  on  floor  of 

crater  ....  «         «       I54 

Scene    at    Onomea    on    east 

coast  of  Hawaii  .         .  «         «       y^Q 

Visitors  scorching  postal 
cards  and  letters  in  lava 
in  Kilauea  communicating 
with  internal  fires      .         .  «         «       Ig^ 

The    rim    of    the    crater    of 

Haleakala   ....  «         «       196 

Liquid  lava  in  Halemaumau, 

Kilauea        ....  «         «       210 

Hawaiian  "  pounding  poi  "  .  "         "       SI  8 

Hawaiian      lei      and      flower 

sellers,  Honolulu        .        .  «         «       226 

Map  Hawaii  ....  "         "       230 


HAWAII 

PAST   AND    PRESENT 


CHAPTER  I 

INTRODUCTION 

At  the  time  of  their  annexation  to  the  United 
States  much  was  heard  of  the  Hawaiian  Islands 
as  the  Key  to  the  Pacific,  a  name  which,  unlike 
most  tags,  seems  to  be  a  fairly  accurate  descrip- 
tion. Situated  between  19°  and  23"  north  latitude 
and  between  154"  40'  and  162°  west  longitude, 
they  are  at  the  junction  of  the  principal  steamer 
routes  across  the  Pacific  and  indeed  are  the  only 
land  of  any  extent  within  a  radius  of  two  thousand 
miles.  This  situation  gives  them,  inevitably,  great 
strategic  and  commercial  importance.  To  the 
north  the  nearest  land  is  Alaska  with  the  chai. 
of  the  Aleutian  Islands,  2,000  miles  away;  to  the 
east,  the  North  American  Continent,  2,000  miles ; 
and  to  the  west,  the  Philippine  Islands,  4,500 
miles.  Honolulu  is  distant  2,100  miles  from  San 
Francisco,  2,460  miles  from  Victoria,  B.  C,  4,700 
from  Manila,  3,400  from  Yokohama,  3,810  from 
Auckland,  and  4,410  from  Sydney.  It  is  reached 
from  San  Francisco  and  the  Orient  by  ships  of 
the  Pacific  Mail  S.  S.  Co.,  and  of  the  Toyo  Kisen 
Kaisha  of  Japan ;  from  British  Columbia  and 
Australia  by  steamers   of  the  Canadian-Austra- 


2  HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

Han  Steamship  Co.  There  are  also  local  boats 
running  between  the  Islands  and  San  Francisco. 
As  the  steamers  on  all  these  lines  have  adequate 
passenger  accommodations  and  as  the  six-day  pas- 
sage from  San  Francisco  is  usually  smooth,  the 
Islands  are  easily  accessible,  and,  as  their  attrac- 
tions become  better  known,  will  inevitably  be  more 
and  more  the  resort  of  tourists. 

The  Hawaiian  group  consists  of  twelve  islands, 
of  which  the  principal,  and  indeed  the  only  in- 
habited, islands  are,  in  order  of  their  size :  Hawaii, 
Maui,  Oahu,  Kauai,  Molokai,  Lanai,  Niihau,  and 
Kahoolawe.  They  were  formed  by  lava  poured 
out  from  a  fissure  in  the  earth's  crust  which  ex- 
tended for  about  two  thousand  miles  along  the 
bottom  of  the  ocean.  To  the  northwest  these  lava 
mountains  reached  only  to  the  surface  of  the 
water,  just  appearing  in  Midway,  Nekkar,  Ocean, 
and  other  islets  and  never  forming  important  land 
until  Kauai,  the  most  northwesterly  of  the  Ha- 
waiian group,  was  built  far  above  sea  level.  On 
this  island  the  volcanic  fires  first  went  out  and 
so  were  successively  extinguished  on  island  after 
island  toward  the  southeast  until  Hawaii  was 
reached.  This  island  is  still  in  the  process  of 
building.  Erosion  is  therefore  greatest  on  Kauai, 
and,  with  the  exception  of  parts  of  those  islands 
which  have  little  or  no  water,  least  on  Hawaii.  All 
the  islands  of  the  group  were  originally  lofty  and 


INTRODUCTION  S 

gently  sloping  mountains,  but  these  have  been 
worn  by  streams  on  the  leeward  side  into  deep 
ravines  and  valleys,  and  on  the  windward  sides 
have  been  literally  cut  away  by  rains  and  winds, 
so  that  the  mountains  are  now  precipitous,  rising 
from  the  sea  in  sheer  cliffs,  hundreds  and  even 
thousands  of  feet  high. 

Geologically  the  Islands  are  composed  of  two 
kinds  of  lava  rock,  one  completely  fused  and  very 
hard,  the  other  only  partly  fused  (tufa),  which 
was  thrown  out  by  the  ancient  volcanoes  in  masses 
and  in  smaller  particles.  Tufa  decomposes  under 
the  action  of  erosion  much  more  quickly  than  does 
the  solid  lava,  but  this,  after  centuries  of  wear 
and  tear  by  the  weather  and  of  being  broken  by 
the  roots  of  plants  that  somehow  find  means  of  life 
even  on  very  recent  lava  flows,  makes  a  far  richer 
soil.  Where  there  is  not  too  much  rain  it  becomes 
a  deep  red  earth,  the  best  on  the  Islands  for  agri- 
cultural purposes  except  the  sedimentary  soil  in 
the  valley  bottoms  and  along  the  coast.  The  only 
non-volcanic  rock,  a  certain  amount  of  sandstone 
and  of  coral,  is  the  result  of  the  uplifting  of 
ancient  reefs. 

In  climate  the  Hawaiian  Islands  are  exception- 
ally favoured.  The  northeast  trade  winds  blow  for 
nine  months  in  the  year,  and  ocean  currents,  also 
from  the  northeast,  further  moderate  the  tempera- 
ture so  that  it  averages  10°  lower  than  in  any 


4  HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

other  region  in  the  same  latitude,  at  sea  level  from 
60**  to  85°,  with  a  mean  of  about  74°,  and  pro- 
portionally lower  as  one  ascends  to  higher  eleva- 
tions. There  are  no  cyclones,  and  thunderstorms 
are  very  rare.  The  rainfall  is  much  greater  on 
the  windward  than  on  the  lee  sides  of  the  Islands, 
the  average  rainfall  of  Honolulu  being,  for  ex- 
ample, 35  inches,  and  of  Hilo,  150  inches.  In 
some  districts  the  average  falls  as  low  as  two 
inches,  and  in  some  rises  as  high  as  300  inches. 
This  necessarily  results  in  a  much  more  luxuriant 
vegetation  on  the  windward  slopes,  wherever  excess 
of  rain  has  not  washed  away  the  soil,  but  the 
mountain  forests  extend  well  down  the  southern 
and  western  slopes,  and  artesian  wells,  combined 
with  an  excellent  system  of  irrigation,  permit  culti- 
vation in  almost  all  parts. 

The  flora  is  varied  and  very  beautiful.  There 
are,  first,  the  indigenous  plants,  growing  wild  on 
the  mountains,  among  them  many  ornamental  and 
useful  trees,  such  as  the  koa,  or  Hawaiian  mahog- 
any, which  is  extensively  used  for  furniture,  and 
the  ohia,  which  is  very  hard,  takes  a  high  polish, 
and  is  used  for  furniture,  floors,  and  panelling,  as 
well  as  for  railroad  ties  and  permanent  fence- 
posts.  The  koa  is  a  wonderful  golden  brown  in 
colour,  full  of  light  and  shadows,  and  exquisitely 
grained.  The  ohia  is  darker,  in  texture  more  like 
the  teak-wood  of  the  Orient.     The  second  group 


INTRODUCTION  5 

of  plants  are  those  which  were  introduced  from 
the  south  by  early  Hawaiian  voyagers.  Useful 
plants  they  were, — cocoanuts,  bananas,  bread- 
fruit, taro,  sugar-cane,  mulberries,  and  fibre 
plants  for  the  manufacture  of  mats,  ropes,  and 
fish-nets.  Of  the  third  group  are  the  plants  now 
growing  wild  but  introduced  more  recently  from 
abroad,  such  as  the  guava,  orange,  mango,  and 
algaroba  tree,  which  last  forms  almost  impenetra- 
able  forests  near  the  seacoast.  Every  effort  is  be- 
ing made  by  both  Federal  and  Territorial  officials 
toward  intelligent  conservation  of  already  exist- 
ing forests  and  toward  reforestation.  Many  bar- 
ren spaces  have  already  been  reclaimed  with  heavy 
planting  of  algaroba,  eucalyptus,  ironwood,  and 
other  trees. 

In  animal  life  the  Islands  are  not  so  rich.  At 
the  time  of  their  discovery  dogs,  hogs,  mice,  and 
domestic  fowls,  beside  wild  fowls  and  migratory 
birds,  were  the  only  animals.  Of  reptiles  there 
were  only  a  few  harmless  lizards.  Snakes  were 
and  are  unknown.  There  were  about  seventy 
varieties  of  wild  birds,  however,  many  of  which, 
owing  to  the  recession  of  the  forests,  have  become 
extinct.  Insects,  including  the  mosquito  (the 
malarial  mosquito  is  fortunately  unknown),  have 
since  been  brought  in,  and,  with  the  careless  intro- 
duction of  foreign  plants,  certain  blights,  for 
which  the  natural  enemies  have  been  discovered 


6  HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

in  time  to  prevent  any  wholesale  destruction  of 
vegetation.  The  most  distinctive  form  of  animal 
life,  and  the  only  one  peculiar  to  the  Islands,  is 
the  land-shells  (achatinella),  of  which  there  are 
341  species.  These  shells  grow  on  the  leaves  of 
forest  trees,  and  are  often  exquisite  in  colouring. 

The  industries,  of  which  sugar  is  far  in  the  lead, 
are  discussed  in  another  chapter. 

The  population  of  the  islands  has  fluctuated 
greatly,  decreasing  from  perhaps  250,000  in  1778 
to  57,985  in  1878,  since  when  it  has  steadily  in- 
creased until,  by  the  census  of  1910,  it  was  found 
to  be  191,909.  Of  this  number  only  26,041  were 
of  pure  Hawaiian  blood,  with  12,606  of  mixed 
Hawaiian  and  Caucasian  or  Asiatic  blood.  Of  the 
remainder,  22,303  were  Portuguese,  4,890  Porto 
Rican,  1,990  Spanish,  14,867  other  Caucasian 
(principally  American),  21,674  Chinese,  70,674 
Japanese,  4,533  Korean,  and  3,431  of  different  or 
mixed  races.  The  native-born  population  num- 
bered 98,157  and  the  foreign-born  93,752.  From 
this  table  it  is  clear  that  the  increase  of  popula- 
tion common  to  all  the  islands  of  the  group  has 
been  principally  due  to  the  importation  of  labour- 
ers, since  the  Portuguese  and  Porto  Ricans  as  well 
as  the  Orientals  have  been  introduced  to  work  on 
the  plantations.  Of  these  the  Portuguese  generally 
turn  at  last  to  independent  agricultural  pursuits, 
settle  permanently  in  the   country,  and  become 


INTRODUCTION  7 

good  citizens.  Many  of  the  Orientals  also  become 
merchants  or  lease  land  to  raise  fruit  or  vegetables 
on  their  own  account,  but  the  great  majority  are 
a  floating  population  who  have  left  home  only 
temporarily  to  earn  money.  An  encouraging 
sign,  except  in  one  respect,  is  the  steady  growth 
of  the  native-born  population.  During  1911  the 
birth  rate  among  all  races  except  the  Hawaiian 
was  materially  in  excess  of  the  death  rate.  But 
among  pure  Hawaiians  there  were,  sadly  enough, 
1,010  deaths  as  against  only  592  births,  a  decrease 
only  partly  compensated  by  the  fact  that  of  part- 
Hawaiians  there  were  467  births  as  against  172 
deaths.  The  race,  as  a  pure  race,  must  inevitably 
disappear,  but  it  may  well  be  that  the  traces  of 
Hawaiian  blood  in  the  future  inhabitants  of  the 
Territory  will  add  dignity  and  grace  and  gentle- 
ness. This  seems  now  to  be  the  case  among  those 
of  mixed  Hawaiian  and  Oriental  lineage,  and  some- 
times, especially  among  the  women,  is  it  true  of 
the  children  of  Hawaiians  and  Caucasians.  The 
population  of  the  Islands  must  always  be  very 
cosmopolitan,  but  this  does  not  mean  that  they 
cannot  be  a  strong  outpost  of  American  civilisa- 
tion, since  the  climate,  unlike  that  of  the  Philip- 
pines, for  example,  is  wholly  favourable  to  the 
growth  of  a  preponderantly  Caucasian  popula- 
tion. 

This  very  mixture  of  races  makes  the  Islands, 


8  HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

from  the  point  of  view  of  the  tourist,  far  more 
interesting  than  they  would  otherwise  be.  Most 
of  the  primitive  Hawaiian  life  has  disappeared 
for  ever,  and  the  people  themselves  are,  of  neces- 
sity, more  sophisticated  in  outlook.  They  have, 
however,  kept  their  simplicity  of  manner  and  with 
it  many  of  the  customs  so  deeply  rooted  in  their 
nature.  Their  love  of  colour  is  ineradicable.  Uni- 
versally they  wear  wreaths  or  "  leis  "  of  flowers 
or  of  feathers.  The  women  dress  in  the  "  holoku," 
a  kind  of  Mother  Hubbard  gown  that  is  often  of 
bright  red  or  blue  or  purple.  Still,  especially  in 
the  country  districts,  the  men  sit  in  front  of  their 
houses  pounding  "  poi,"  the  national  dish.  Some- 
times a  cavalcade  of  riders  passes,  the  women 
astride,  wearing  "  pads,"  which  are  strands  of 
brilliant  cloth  wound  around  the  legs  and  stream- 
ing out  behind  the  horses  like  wings.  The  fisher- 
men cling  to  the  picturesque  but  heavy  dug-out 
canoe  with  its  huge  outrigger  of  lighter  wood. 
Still,  when  a  chief  dies,  the  ancient  wailing  makes 
nights  and  days  tragically  musical.  And  when 
one  does  not  see  the  Hawaiians  themselves  there 
are  the  Chinese  and  Japanese  and  Koreans  to  make 
one  realise  that  Honolulu  is  also  a  gateway  to  the 
Orient.  In  the  city  are  lines  of  deep,  dark  shops 
where  Chinamen  sit  stolidly  on  carved  teak-wood 
stools  before  their  queer  baskets  and  rows  of 
lacquered  boxes  and  rolls  of  silk;  noisy  corners 


O 


eg 
as 


INTRODUCTION  9 

where  voluble  Japanese  congregate  to  bargain  and 
to  discuss  excitedly  all  sorts  of  profound  or  trivial 
questions.  Through  the  streets  trudge  the  Orien- 
tal market-gardeners,  their  wares  displayed  in  two 
flat,  round,  open  baskets  suspended  from  each  end 
of  a  long  pole — lettuce  and  purple  eggplant  and 
white,  twisted  lotus  roots,  or  little  tins  of  the  scarlet 
strawberries  that  fruit  the  whole  year  round.  Or 
on  the  plantations  one  sees  them — these  sturdy 
men  of  the  East — cutting  the  cane  with  long,  keen 
knives  and  loading  it  on  little  cars  to  be  carried 
to  the  mill;  or  in  the  mill  itself,  stripped  to  the 
waist,  shovelling  the  warm  raw  sugar  into  sacks; 
or,  after  work  is  over,  playing  the  hose  on  each 
other,  quite  naked,  before  their  cottages  in  the  cool 
of  the  day.  Even  the  Caucasians,  the  Americans 
and  English  and  Germans,  are  obviously  the  deni- 
zens of  another  land.  Their  white  linen  suits  and 
muslin  dresses,  their  skins  tanned  with  the  tropical 
sun,  the  very  freedom  of  their  motions,  differen- 
tiate them  from  their  brothers  and  sisters  in  the 
north.  But  here  there  is  no  suggestion  of  illness, 
as  in  so  many  tropical  countries.  There  is  no 
fever  in  the  clean  trade  winds.  They  are  as  sturdy 
physically  as  ever  their  fathers  and  mothers  were 
at  home.  Their  children  do  not  have  to  be  sent 
away  like  the  children  of  those  who  are  expatriated 
to  India,  but  grow  up  as  strong  as  the  children 
of  the  home  land.    All  this  makes  them  not  restless 


10  HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

sojourners  in  a  foreign  country,  but  rather  adven- 
turers who  have  found  a  new  home  and  broader 
opportunity. 

/  Hawaii  is  a  land  of  law  and  order.  Different 
/  as  it  may  be  in  its  outward  aspects,  one  feels  it 
to  be  essentially  an  outpost  and  a  distant  centre 
of  American  civilisation.  Partly  consciously, 
partly  unconsciously,  the  missionaries  saw  to 
that.  English  is  the  official  language,  even  though 
in  the  courts  and  in  the  legislature  speeches  are 
by  courtesy  translated  into  Hawaiian.  The 
schools  are  conducted  in  English.  American  enter- 
prise has  built  up  the  country,  although  much 
British  and  German  capital  is  also  invested.  The 
Hawaiian  people  themselves  have  so  absorbed  the 
essential  ideals  of  America  that  one  feels  the  coun- 
try, with  all  its  superficially  un-American  traits, 
to  rest  on  a  thoroughly  American  foundation.  The 
complexity  of  races  gives  a  picturesqueness  that 
is  utterly  absent  from  a  blatant  Western  town. 
There  is  all  the  vigour  of  young  American  life,  but 
with  an  added  grace  and  stability  brought  about 
through  contact  with  other  more  conservative  peo- 
ples. The  Islands  give  an  admirable  example  of 
colonisation  which  has  been  able  to  inspire  with 
its  own  ideals,  its  own  strength,  while  it  has  not 
imposed  such  slavish  following  of  externals  as 
would  destroy  sense  of  individuality  and  as  would 
cause  irritation  through  forcing  an  alien  race  to 


\ 


INTRODUCTION  11 

abandon  customs  that  are  not  incompatible  with 
progress. 

Every  American  interested  in  the  achievements 
of  his  own  country  ought  to  see  this  youngest  Ter- 
ritory, since  here,  better  than  anywhere  else,  can 
he  appreciate  the  assimilative  and  uplifting  power 
of  the  best  American  traditions.  It  is,  moreover, 
an  older  civilisation  than  that  of  California,  more 
suggestive  of  the  Atlantic  seaboard  than  of  the 
Pacific.  And  this  is  natural,  since  the  first  settlers, 
the  missionaries,  came  from  the  Eastern  States 
and  came,  moreover,  not  in  a  spirit  of  gain  and 
of  conquest,  but  for  the  express  purpose  of  giving 
to  a  new  land  the  best  that  they  had  known  in  an 
old  one.  They  held  fast  to  their  own  ideals,  but 
were  fortunately  able  to  see  that  there  might  be 
other  and  different  ideals  which  could  exist  side 
by  side  with  theirs.  It  is  true  that  they  destroyed 
much  that  was  picturesque.  They  insisted,  for 
example,  on  trousers  and  skirts  as  a  necessary 
adjunct  of  Christianity,  but  skirts  and  trousers, 
whether  considered  as  insignia  of  Christianity  or 
of  decency,  seem  inevitably  to  follow  in  the  wake 
of  civilisation.  Beyond  this,  however,  beyond 
Christianising  and  educating,  the  missionaries 
were  willing  to  admit  that  God  made  the  climate 
and  that  neither  tropical  customs  nor  tropical 
architecture  need  conform  strictly  to  those  of 
New  England.    For  a  hundred  years  the  predomi- 


12  HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

nant  influence  has  been  American,  and  it  is  an 
influence  which  has  become  the  motive  power  of 
the  land,  so  that  we  have  really,  to-day,  a  bit  of 
America  that  is  no  less  American  because  it  holds 
as  surface  decoration  some  of  the  colour  and  some 
of  the  strangeness  of  other  lands. 

Add  to  all  this,  which  might  be  called  the  intel- 
lectual interest  of  the  place,  a  climate  always  mild, 
but  never  cruelly  hot,  such  physical  traits  as  su- 
perb mountains  glowing  with  tropical  colour,  that 
spring  straight  from  the  shining  sea,  a  varied  and 
a  beautiful  flora,  the  greatest  active  volcanoes  in 
the  world,  and  there  seems  truth  in  the  other 
name  that  has  long  been  given  the  Islands,  "The 
Paradise  of  the  Pacific." 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  HAWAHAN  PEOPLE 

Early  Hawaiian  history  is  entirely  legendary. 
There  was  no  written  language,  although  certain 
crude  outline  pictures  and  characters,  apparently 
depicting  historical  events,  have  recently  been 
found.  These,  however,  have  not  yet  been  deci- 
phered. The  history,  therefore,  can  be  traced  only 
through  ancient  "  meles  "  or  songs,  poems  without 
rhyme  or  metre,  but  strictly  accented  and  often 
several  hundred  lines  in  length,  which  were  handed 
down  orally  for  many  generations.  Every  high 
chief  had  in  his  retinue  professional  bards  who, 
like  the  minstrels  of  England,  kept  alive  the  tradi- 
tions of  wars  and  of  heroes  and  who,  as  well, 
chanted  love  songs  and  dirges  and  composed  poems 
in  honour  of  the  chief. 

The  Islands  were  settled  as  early  as  500  a.  d., 
a  fact  proved  by  the  discovery  of  human  bones 
under  ancient  lava  and  coral  beds.  The  Hawaiian 
people  are  clearly  of  the  Polynesian  race,  all 
branches  of  which  can  almost  certainly  be  traced 
back  to  the  Island  of  Savaii  in  the  Samoan  group. 
The  Hawaiian  language  is  but  one  dialect  of  the 
Polynesian  tongue.     Indeed,  so  similar  are  these 

13 


14  HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

dialects  that  an  intelligent  man,  well  versed  in 
Hawaiian,  can  understand  almost  everything 
said  by  a  Maori  of  New  Zealand.  Not  only 
the  people,  moreover,  but  the  animals  and  plants 
in  Hawaii,  are  related  to  the  islands  of  the  south- 
ern Pacific.  This  means  that  the  early  settlers 
must  have  come  from  the  south  and  southwest, 
whereas  the  prevailing  winds  and  currents  are 
from  the  northeast.  Wonderful  this  passage  must 
have  been  in  any  case,  across  two  thousand  miles 
of  open  ocean  in  canoes ;  still  more  extraordinary 
when  the  voyage  was  made  against  winds  and 
currents. 

There  were  two  periods  of  migration  to  Ha- 
waii, but  of  the  first  there  are  few  legends,  although 
to  it  are  ascribed  certain  temples  and  the  great 
fish  ponds  along  the  coast  of  Molokai.  In  the 
eleventh  or  twelfth  century  intercourse  with  the 
south  was  renewed  and  in  the  songs  are  recorded 
many  voyages  both  to  and  from  Tahiti  or  Samoa, 
the  voyagers  travelling  in  fleets  of  canoes  and 
steering  by  the  stars.  The  canoes  were  probably 
built  of  planks,  decked  over,  and  large  enough  to 
carry  a  certain  amount  of  live  stock.  For  some 
unknown  reason  the  period  of  this  intercourse  was 
very  short.  During  the  next  five  hundred  years 
there  are  no  legends  of  distant  voyages,  and  ideas 
of  any  country  beyond  the  Hawaiian  group  became 
indistinct.    This  time  of  isolation  brought  about, 


THE  HAWAIIAN  PEOPLE  15 

naturally,  fixed  national  customs  and  a  very  defi- 
nite and  individual  national  religion. 

In  ancient  times  the  people  were  divided  into 
three  distinct  classes,  the  nobility,  the  priests  and 
sorcerers,  and  the  common  people,  and  between 
these  classes  were  absolute  and  unalterable  lines 
of  demarcation.  The  chiefs,  or  "  alii,"  were  sup- 
posed to  be  descended  from  the  gods  and  their 
office  was,  therefore,  religious  as  well  as  political. 
So  sacred  were  the  highest  chiefs  considered  that 
when  they  walked  about  the  people  all  had  to  pros- 
trate themselves.  The  courts  comprised  personal 
attendants  of  the  chief, — men  of  high  rank  only 
on  the  father's  side, — priests,  diviners,  story- 
tellers, and  dancers,  who  were  trained  to  the  art 
from  infancy.  The  chief  owned  all  the  land  and 
parcelled  it  out  among  the  nobility,  who,  in  turn, 
distributed  it  among  the  common  people.  As  often 
as  a  chief  died  the  land  was  redistributed.  It  was 
the  feudal  system  in  its  most  literal  and  oppres- 
sive form,  the  only  check  on  the  power  of  the  nobles 
being  that  the  people  were  not  fixed  to  the  soil,  but 
might  move  from  place  to  place  at  will,  thereby 
entering  the  service  of  some  other  chief. 

The  priests,  or  "  kahunas,"  were  also  a  heredi- 
tary order  exercising  great  power,  not  only  be- 
cause they  were  the  medium  of  communication  with 
the  gods,  but  because  they,  only,  knew  anything  of 
astronomy   and   medicine.     The   lower   ranks   of 


16  HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

priests  were  sorcerers,  able  to  pray  people  to 
death — one  of  the  few  ancient  beliefs  still  held 
by  many  Hawaiians.  As  to  the  religion  itself, 
four  great  gods  were  worshipped  in  different  ways 
by  all  Polynesians.  According  to  the  Hawaiian 
interpretation,  which  does  not  differ  materially 
from  others,  the  most  powerful  of  these  gods  was 
Kane,  the  creator  of  the  world.  He  with  his 
brother  Kanaloa  once  lived  on  the  Island  of  Ha- 
waii, where  they  made  miraculously  many  of  the 
springs  ;  they  also  introduced  the  banana  and  other 
useful  trees.  Ku  was  a  cruel  god,  delighting  in 
suffering  and  human  sacrifice.  Lono,  of  a  slightly 
lower  rank,  controlled  the  rains  and  had  his  own 
particular  order  of  priests.  In  addition  to  these 
highest  gods,  all  the  forces  of  nature  were  deified ; 
the  air,  the  rocks,  the  trees,  were  the  expression 
of  invisible  beings  to  whom  reverence  was  due  and 
who  must  at  all  times  be  propitiated.  There  were 
also  gods  of  different  localities,  gods  of  different 
professions,  gods  living  in  sharks  and  lizards  and 
owls.  Most  powerful  among  the  minor  deities,  as 
might  be  expected  in  a  volcanic  country,  was  Pele, 
the  goddess  of  fire.  Near  the  volcanoes  on  Hawaii 
she  was  most  feared,  and  constant  propitiation 
was  therefore  necessary.  She,  with  her  sisters  and 
her  brother,  lived  in  the  volcano ;  "  The  roaring 
of  the  furnaces  and  the  crackling  of  the  flames 
were  the  music  of  their  dance  and  the  red  fiery 


eg 

O 
O 
Ph 
O 

o 

Oh 


c3 


a 
Ph 


THE  HAWAIIAN  PEOPLE  17 

surge  was  the  surf  in  which  they  played."  *  There 
were  malignant  and  friendly  elves  in  the  woods ; 
there  were  demigods  of  every  kind;  there  were 
deified  ancestors.  Not  an  act  of  daily  life  could 
be  performed  without  reference  to  one  or  more  of 
these  divine  beings.  It  was  this  far-reaching  super- 
stition that  gave  rise  to  the  tabu  system,  one  of 
the  most  ^aborate  devices  of  any  heathen  race. 

This  system  was  made  up  of  minute  regulations, 
infringement  of  any  one  of  which  was  considered 
both  as  a  sin  against  the  gods  and  as  a  political 
offence,  since  the  office  of  the  chiefs  was  religious 
as  well  as  seciilar.  The  following  are  a  very 
few  of  these  tabus,  which  are  enough  to  indi- 
cate their  general  character:  Men  and  women 
were  compelled  to  eat  in  separate  houses  and 
women  were  not  allowed  to  eat  with  men  or 
to  enter  men's  eating-houses  on  pain  of  death. 
For  women,  also,  certain  food,  such  as  bananas, 
cocoanuts,  and  pork,  was  forbidden.  A  com- 
moner was  prohibited  on  pain  of  death  from 
crossing  the  shadow  of  a  chief — a  law  which  must 
have  been  difficult  to  obey  in  the  early  morning  or 
late  afternoon.  Certain  nights  of  the  month  were 
tabu — the  king  spent  the  time  in  the  temple,  which 
was  closed  to  all  other  persons,  nor  during  those 
nights  could  women  step  into  canoes.  At  certain 
tabu  periods  no  sound  could  be  heard,  no  fire  could 
•Ellis:   **  Tour  of  Hawaii.'* 


18  HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

be  lighted ;  dogs  were  muzzled  and  fowls  tied  up 
in  calabashes.  For  four  days  after  the  dedication 
of  a  temple  there  could  be  no  fishing,  no  bathing, 
no  pounding  of  poi,  no  work  of  any  kind  in  the 
locality. 

All  this  system  was  elaborated  by  the  priests 
on  the  basis  of  tradition  and  was  enforced  by  the 
chiefs.  Connected  with  it  was  an  equally  com- 
plicated religious  ritual.  The  more  important 
temples  consisted  of  great  stone  platforms  sur- 
rounded by  thick  stone  walls.  The  interior  was 
often  terraced  and  occasionally  there  was  an 
inner  court  in  which  stood  the  principal  idol.  In 
the  centre  of  the  main  court  was  the  oracle,  an 
obelisk  of  wicker  work,  within  which  the  priest 
stood  when  acting  as  intermediary  with  the  gods. 
In  this  court  also  were  sacred  houses  in  which  the 
king  and  priests  lived  during  periods  of  tabu. 
On  the  outer  walls  of  the  temple  stood  innumerable 
hideous  images,  probably  intended  as  human  scare- 
crows to  frighten  away  the  over-inquisitive.  In 
addition  to  the  temples  were  houses  of  refuge,  to 
which  criminals  of  any  grade  could  flee  and  receive 
protection  until  the  time  of  purification  was 
passed,  when  they  could  go  out  under  the  care  of 
the  gods.  The  idols,  after  having  certain  cere- 
monies performed  over  them,  became  representa- 
tives of  the  gods  and  were  reputed  to  have  definite 
powers     imparted    by     their    respective    deities. 


THE  HAWAIIAN  PEOPLE  19 

Every  family,  moreover,  had  its  private  idol,  the 
power  of  which  was  very  limited  as  compared  with 
that  of  the  temple  idols.  The  prayers  composing 
the  temple  ritual  were,  like  the  songs,  handed 
down  orally  through  many  generations.  They 
were  in  reality  charms  rather  than  prayers,  and 
had  to  be  recited  accurately  to  be  effective, — a 
very  difficult  task,  since  they  were  so  long  that  they 
often  took  hours  to  repeat  and  were  in  an  ancient 
dialect  not  much  more  understood  by  the  common 
people  than  in  Russia  is  the  old  Slavonic  tongue 
of  the  Orthodox  ritual.  Human  sacrifice,  the  su- 
preme act  of  worship,  was  reserved  for  the  most 
solemn  occasions  only,  such  as  the  dedication  of 
a  temple,  the  funeral  rites  of  a  chief,  or  the  launch- 
ing of  a  war  canoe.  The  victims,  who  were  se- 
cretly slain  by  the  Mu,  the  official  executioner, 
were  either  prisoners  of  war  or  men  who  had  in- 
fringed the  tabu.  Women,  being  inferior  and 
therefore  not  worthy  to  be  offered  to  the  gods, 
were,  in  this  instance  at  least,  safe. 

The  common  people,  who  were  hardly  more  than 
serfs,  had  little  to  make  life  happy  unless  they 
were  fortunate  enough  to  be  attached  to  a  benevo- 
lent chief.  All  were  liable  to  military  service,  and 
wars,  after  the  beginning  of  the  fifteenth  century, 
were  nearly  continuous.  Weapons  consisted  of 
long  and  short  spears,  daggers,  clubs,  and  slings. 
There  were  no  shields,  but  trained  warriors  be- 


20  HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

came  very  expert  in  warding  off  attack.  Van- 
couver says  that  in  a  sham  battle  he  saw  "  six 
spears  cast  at  once  at  Kamehameha  I,  of  which 
he  caught  three,  parried  two,  and  avoided  the  sixth 
by  a  quick  movement  of  the  body."  After  a  battle 
it  was  customary  to  give  no  quarter  to  the  defeated 
enemy.  In  spite  of  the  wars,  however,  much  time 
was  of  necessity  given  to  peaceful  pursuits.  As 
there  was  no  metal,  tools  were  made  of  stone,  or 
sharks'  teeth,  or  wood,  yet  with  these  rude  imple- 
ments the  people  carried  on  extensive  agricultural 
works,  terraced  the  land  when  necessary,  built  irri- 
gation ditches  and  tunnels,  and  constructed  fields 
for  the  growing  of  taro.  This  was  their  principal 
crop,  as  it  was,  and  is,  the  staple  food.  The  best 
of  it,  and  indeed  the  larger  proportion,  grows  in 
fields  which  must  be  covered  with  water  to  the 
depth  of  a  few  inches  and  which  must,  therefore,  be 
very  carefully  laid  out.  The  root  is  boiled  or 
steamed  until  soft,  pounded  with  stone  pestles  into 
a  paste,  mixed  with  water,  and  allowed  slightly  to 
ferment.  This  is  poi,  the  national  food,  very 
healthful,  and,  to  those  who  are  accustomed  to  it, 
very  good.  (It  may  be  noted  that  the  glutinous 
qualities  are  such  that  it  is  used  also  as  a  paste 
in  hanging  wallpaper.)  In  addition  to  taro,  the 
ancient  Hawaiians  cultivated  sweet  potatoes,  yams, 
and  bananas.  Of  animal  food  they  had  only  pork. 
-Fishing  was,  therefore,  a  most  important  industry. 


THE  HAWAIIAN  PEOPLE  21 

and  the  fishermen,  who  formed  a  class  by  them- 
selves, were  expert  in  the  use  of  hook  and  line, 
net,  and  spear.  Fish,  too,  were  preserved  in  huge 
fish  ponds,  which  were  made  by  building  rock  walls, 
sometimes  a  mile  or  more  in  length,  in  rude  semi- 
circles into  the  sea,  each  end  resting  on  the  shore. 
These  walls  were  built  close  enough  to  prevent  the 
fish  from  escaping,  while  the  tide  water  could  still 
pass  through  them.  Some  of  these  fish  ponds  are 
still  in  use,  but  the  most  interesting  are  the  ancient 
ones,  now,  owing  to  the  subsidence  of  the  land, 
many  feet  under  water,  which  one  sees  from  the 
hills  of  Molokai.  Both  fish  and  vegetables  were 
prepared  in  underground  ovens.  They  -  were 
wrapped  in  leaves  and  laid  on  heated  stones ;  water 
was  then  poured  into  the  cavity  and  the  whole 
covered,  the  food  being  cooked  by  the  steam. 

Houses,  varying  in  size  according  to  the  rank 
of  the  owner,  consisted  of  rough  wooden  frames, 
tied  together,  and  thatched  over  with  grass  or  ti 
leaves.  The  doors  were  low  and  narrow  and  there 
were  usually  no  windows.  There  was  little  or  no 
attempt  at  ornamentation.  To  some  extent  the 
same  style  of  house  is  used  at  the  present  day, 
and,  like  the  peasant  cottage  of  Brittany,  seems 
the  real  expression  of  the  land  and  of  the  native 
character.  As  one  finds  them  occasionally  on  the 
southwest  coast  of  the  Island  of  Hawaii,  nothing 
could  be  lovelier  than  one  of  these  gray-brown  huts, 


22  HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

with  tapering  cocoanuts  at  one  side,  a  great  mass 
of  vivid  green  banana  trees  on  the  other,  and  be- 
hind, the  red  foothills.  Civilisation  seems  to  slip 
away  and  one  is  conscious  only  of  the  old  man 
and  the  old  woman  sitting  cross-legged  in  the 
sun,  busy  with  the  same  primitive  tasks  that  oc- 
cupied their  ancestors  hundreds  of  years  ago.  For 
furniture  they  had  only  mats,  those  of  finer  quality 
spread  over  the  sleeping-platform  at  the  end  of 
the  room;  calabashes  and  water  bottles  made  of 
gourds,  which  were  sometimes  decorated  by  burn- 
ing ;  and  bowls  and  platters  of  polished  wood.  At 
night  they  burned  kukui  nuts  (Aleuritis  moluc- 
cana)  for  light.  Their  clothing  was  made  of  kapa, 
or,  as  it  is  usually  called,  tapa,  a  kind  of  paper 
cloth  manufactured  by  the  women  from  the  bark 
of  certain  trees.  This  kapa  was  of  different 
grades,  some  as  heavy  as  leather,  some  as  fine  as 
linen.*  The  women  wrapped  strips  of  it  about 
three  feet  wide  around  the  waist,  and  the  men  used 
it  as  a  "  malo  "  or  loin  cloth.  It  was  also  some- 
times worn  as  a  mantle  by  both  men  and  women. 
This  simplicity  of  dress  was  more  than  compen- 
sated by  the  national  love  of  ornament.  Both  men 
and  women  wore  wreaths  of  flowers  or  of  bright- 
coloured  feathers,  or  strings  of  orange-coloured  * 

*I  saw  recently  in  London  a  book  containing  over  a  hundred 
specimens  of  this  tapa,  brought  to  England  by  Captain  Cook's 
Expedition. 


THE  HAWAIIAN  PEOPLE  28 

pandanus  fruit  on  head  and  neck.  The  chiefs  wore 
also  hooks  of  walrus  ivory  suspended  from  the 
neck  on  braids  of  human  hair.  No  costume  could 
have  been,  after  all,  more  appropriate  than  this 
brightly-dyed  kapa  and  these  brilliant  flowers 
against  the  bronze  skin,  which  seems  in  itself  a 
dress. 

The  Hawaiians  were  a  sport-loving  people. 
Boxing,  wrestling,  foot  racing,  and  bowling  with 
polished  stone  discs  were  among  the  favourite 
amusements.  Still  to  be  seen,  also,  are  the  long 
slides  on  steep  hillsides,  down  which  they  darted 
on  wooden  sleds.  Swimming  and  diving  were  the 
delight  of  all,  chiefs  and  common  people,  and  surf 
riding  remains  to  this  day  one  of  the  favourite 
sports.  It  is  this  surf  riding,  as  popular  now 
\vith  foreigners  as  with  the  natives,  which  makes 
Waikiki,  near  Honolulu,  unique  among  bathing 
resorts.  The  surf  rider  takes  a  long,  smooth,  pol- 
ished board  and  with  it  swims  out  a  half-mile  or 
so  from  the  shore.  He  then  lies  flat  on  his  board 
and  swims  rapidly  toward  shore  until  a  roller 
catches  the  board  and  carries  him  on  its  crest  to 
the  beach.  Expert  surf  riders  can  raise  them- 
selves to  a  standing  position  after  the  wave  takes 
them  and  so  ride,  standing,  for  hundreds  of  yards, 
or  as  far  as  the  wave  will  carry  them.  The  game 
has  all  the  excitement  of  tobogganing  without  the 
eff^ort  of  dragging  the  toboggan  uphill  again,  be- 


24  HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

cause  the  swim  out  to  sea,  diving  under  the  waves 
as  one  goes,  has  almost  the  fun  of  the  ride  back. 
For  those  who  cannot  swim  the  tamer  sport  of 
surf  riding  in  long  Hawaiian  canoes,  the  outrig- 
gers of  which  make  an  upset  next  to  impossible,  is 
a  good  substitute. 

Like  this  sport,  Hawaiian  dancing  and  music 
remain  to  recall  the  ancient  times.  The  primitive 
flute  can  be  heard  only  as  it  is  played  by  the  pen- 
sioners at  Lunalilo  Home,  and  even  the  ukulele,  a 
tiny  guitar,  is  an  improvement  almost  beyond  rec- 
ognition over  the  old  "  ukeke,"  although  its  use  as 
a  metrical  accompaniment  is  much  the  same.  The 
songs  still  have  the  old  melody,  with  minor  cadences 
and  a  haunting  sadness  that  sets  them  off  from 
all  other  songs.  And  when  a  chief  dies  the  wailing 
is  still  heard, — a  piercing  rhythmical  lamentation 
lasting  for  hours  or  even  days  within  and  around 
the  house  of  the  dead.  It  can  never  be  forgotten, 
and  somehow,  after  one  has  heard  it,  one  can  recog- 
nise always,  even  in  the  love  songs  that  are  chanted 
in  the  moonlight  outside  of  hotel  windows,  a  strain 
of  the  same  hopeless  sadness  which  is  so  fully  ex- 
pressed in  the  dirges  and  which  is  perhaps  a  note 
of  the  passing  Hawaiian  race. 

For  a  passing  race  it  surely  is.  No  one  knows 
when  the  number  of  inhabitants  was  greatest,  but 
it  is  certain  that  the  continuous  wars  which  rav- 
aged the  country  for  two  centuries  and  over  before 


THE  HAWAIIAN  PEOPLE  25 

its  discovery  by  Captain  Cook  had  already  reduced 
the  population  by  a  large  proportion.  Foreigners 
— even  Captain  Cook's  own  crew — introduced  dis- 
eases unknown  before.  The  people  had  never  been 
moral  according  to  Anglo-Saxon  standards,  the 
marriage  tie  being  of  the  loosest,  polygamy  a  com- 
mon practice,  and  fidelity  an  unknown  virtue. 
This  meant  that  the  diseases  of  civilisation  could 
do  their  worst.  What  made  the  situation  even 
more  deplorable  was  the  almost  complete  lack  of 
medical  knowledge.  It  is  true  that  the  uses  of 
certain  herbs  were  understood,  but  sickness,  ac- 
cording to  the  common  belief,  was  caused  by  evil 
spirits  and  its  cure  was  in  sorcery.  Relatives  of 
the  sick  man  made  offerings  for  him.  If  this  did 
not  prove  effective  the  sick  man  himself,  whatever 
his  disease,  was  given  a  steam  bath  and  then  dipped 
in  the  sea,  or  was  made  to  eat  pieces  of  squid.  The 
sorcerers,  however,  were  more  often  employed  to 
make  men  sick  than  to  relieve  suffering,  and  so 
absolute  was  the  belief  in  evil  spirits,  so  powerful 
the  imagination,  that  they  were  always  successful. 
A  man  who  knew  that  a  kahuna  was  praying  him 
to  death  promptly  died.  The  wonder  is,  not  that 
the  population  declined,  but  that  it  did  not  decline 
even  more  rapidly. 

At  the  time  of  the  discovery  of  the  Islands  the 
native  population  numbered,  according  to  Cook, 
,000,  but  on  what  he  based  his   data   is   not 


26  HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

known;  250,000  is  probably  nearer  the  truth. 
To-day  there  are  not  30,000  pure-blooded 
Hawaiians,  about  40,000  including  the  part-Ha- 
waiians.  The  race,  already  decimated  by  war, 
decreased  rapidly  under  the  scourge  of  measles, 
smallpox,  venereal  diseases,  and  strong  drink. 
Now  that  there  is  adequate  medical  knowledge,  and 
with  the  protection  given  to  the  Hawaiians  by  the 
better  class  of  white  people,  the  race  might  again 
increase  were  it  not  for  intermarriage  with  for- 
eigners. So  general  is  this  intermarriage  that, 
although  the  number  of  those  with  Hawaiian  blood 
is  greater  with  every  census,  the  number  of  pure- 
blooded  natives  proportionally  decreases.  It  is 
a  question  of  only  a  few  generations  before  the 
Hawaiians,  as  a  people,  will  be  only  a  memory,  just 
as  their  language  will  soon  be  extinct  as  a  pure 
tongue. 

\  And  in  many  ways  this  disappearance  of  the 
race  is  sad,  for  the  Hawaiians  are  a  people  with 
a  past  that  is  often  noble.  In  spite  of  their  weak- 
nesses and  their  follies  they  are  very  lovable.  The 
best  of  them  are  physically  admirable,  tall,  well- 
formed,  with  high  foreheads,  good  features,  deep 
chests,  slender  limbs.  In  colour  they  are  some- 
thing like  the  American  Indian,  although  not  as 
red,  and  their  high  cheekbones  and  straight  hair 
accentuate  the  resemblance.  There  is  nothing 
about  them  to  suggest  the  negro,  and  they  them- 


•  •«• .« 


:t* 


eg 


I 


THE  HAWAIIAN  PEOPLE '  27 

selves  consider  him  as  an  inferior  being.  Their 
manners  are  excellent,  their  motions  graceful. 
Among  the  higher  ranks,  of  whom  the  Queen  is 
a  good  example,  there  is  a  courtliness  of  demeanour 
which  recalls  the  salons  of  the  old  European  aris- 
tocracy. They  carry  themselves  well,  walk  firmly 
and  lightly.  Nothing  could  be  more  physically 
beautiful,  more  harmonious  in  line,  than  a  Ha- 
waiian fisherman,  naked  except  for  his  loin  cloth, 
as  he  stands  poised  on  a  rock  ready  to  cast  his 
net.  He  is  classic  in  the  moulding  of  his  form, 
in  the  perfection  and  symmetry  of  his  muscular 
development,  insistently  reminiscent  of  some  Greek 
bronze  of  an  athlete  stripped  for  the  games. 

The  Hawaiians  are  also  an  intelligent  people,  so 
that  teaching  them  is  a  pleasure.  Nor  are  they 
merely  imitative.  They  make  good  teachers  in  the 
schools,  good  overseers  on  the  plantations.  They 
never  steal.  They  are  honest  and  trustworthy. 
They  are  affectionate  and  grateful  for  kindness. 
Like  children,  however,  they  are  emotional  and 
easily  led,  voting  often,  for  example,  against  their 
principles  on  the  advice  of  some  unscrupulous 
agitator  and  keenly  regretting  afterwards  what 
they  have  done.  They  are  now,  as  they  always 
have  been,  abnormally  fond  of  games  of  chance, 
and  in  the  excitement  of  the  moment  will  wager 
everything  they  possess,  which,  fortunately  for 
them  and  unfortunately  for  "  beasts  of  prey,"  is 


28  HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

usually  very  little.  Their  most  besetting  sin  is 
what  might  be  called  moral  laziness.  On  the 
plantations,  for  instance,  they  make  splendid 
workmen,  accomplishing  in  a  day  twice  the  amount 
of  hard  labour  that  a  Japanese  is  willing  to  do, 
but  when  pay  day  comes  they  go  home  and,  for- 
getting to  return  in  the  morning,  fish  a  little,  sleep 
and  eat  a  great  deal,  until  their  money  is  ex- 
hausted and  their  credit  gone.  Then,  with  perfect 
cheerfulness,  they  go  back  to  work.  According 
most  satisfactorily  with  this  habit  is  the  ancient 
custom,  loyally  adhered  to  even  at  present,  of 
dependence  on  a  chief.  The  Queen  has  very  many 
who  look  to  her  for  food  and  shelter  because  their 
ancestors  looked  to  her  ancestors,  and  she,  as  loyal 
to  custom  as  they,  supports  them  out  of  her 
meagre  resources.  The  same  is  true  in  greater  or 
less  degree  of  all  the  remaining  chiefs. 

Except  in  the  case  of  intermarriage  with  the 
Chinese,  the  mixture  of  Hawaiian  with  foreign 
blood  does  not  usually  result  well.  There  are 
notable  exceptions  of  part-Hawaiians  in  important 
public  and  private  positions,  but  as  a  rule,  among 
the  men  at  least,  it  seems  to  be  the  weak  qualities 
of  both  races  which  are  exemplified  in  the  children 
of  mixed  marriages.  As  the  Hawaiian  blood  be- 
comes more  and  more  diluted  this  may  not  be  the 
case,  but  as  it  is  now  it  makes  even  sadder  the 
breaking  up  of  the  race,  because  too  often  in  the 


THE  HAWAIIAN  PEOPLE  29 

half-Hawaiian  it  is  the  moral  weakness  that  will 
be  noted  and  imputed  to  the  native  blood,  not  the 
physical  strength;  the  love  of  gambling,  not  the 
honesty;  the  vacillation,  not  the  loyalty;  the 
trickiness,  not  the  childlike  simplicity.  An  eth- 
nologist a  few  generations  hence,  in  attempting  to 
reconstruct  from  the  predominant  characteristics 
of  their  mongrel  descendants  a  picture  of  the 
ancient  Hawaiian  race,  will  make  them  a  people 
despicable  and  thoroughly  degraded.  And  those 
who  have  known  them  in  their  integrity,  like  chil- 
dren faulty  and  volatile,  but  like  children  eager  to 
be  taught  and  susceptible  to  every  good  influence, 
will  no  longer  be  there  to  defend  them.  The  man 
who  would  see  the  remnants  of  a  genial,  kindly, 
aff'ectionate  race  must  see  them  now  or  never. 


CHAPTER  III 


HISTORY  TO   1898 

From  the  time  of  settlement  to  about  the  end  of 
the  thirteenth  century  the  Hawaiian  Islands,  di- 
vided almost  from  the  first  into  independent  king- 
doms, seem  on  the  whole  to  have  been  peaceful. 
From  this  time  on,  however,  strife  became  more 
and  more  general,  and  after  1450  a.  d.  there  were 
continual  wars,  which  had  the  inevitable  effect  of 
lowering  standards,  materially,  as  well  as  intel- 
lectually and  morally,  and  also  of  seriously  de- 
creasing the  population.  Many  and  barbarous 
were  the  battles  and,  as  no  quarter  was  given  the 
conquered,  whole  districts  were  devastated  and 
depopulated.  One  chief  after  another,  arrogant 
and  rapacious,  led  his  brutal  army  from  district 
to  district,  from  island  to  island.  Sometimes  a 
chief  gained  control  of  a  large  part  of  the  group, 
only  to  lose  what  he  had  conquered  through  suc- 
cessful rebellion  during  his  own  lifetime;  surely, 
so  far  as  the  establishment  of  a  dynasty  was  con- 
cerned, to  lose  it  when,  after  his  death,  quarrels 
broke  out  as  to  redistribution  of  land  among  the 
competing  nobles.  In  November,  1736,  during  one 
of   these   ferocious    and   unnecessary   civil  wars, 

30 


HISTORY  TO  1898  31 

Kamehameha  I  was  born,  but  before  his  work  of 
uniting  the  country  under  one  sovereign  was  be- 
gun, the  Islands  were  discovered  by  Captain  Cook. 
From  old  maps  it  is  clear  that  the  Spaniards  had 
known  as  early  as  the  sixteenth  century  that  there 
was  land  somewhere  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Islands, 
but  the  world  had  no  information  as  to  its  exact 
position  and  extent  until  Captain  Cook,  on  a  voy- 
age of  discovery  to  the  northwest  coast  of  America, 
sighted  the  Island  of  Oahu  on  January  18th,  1778. 
He  saw  soon  afterwards  the  Islands  of  Niihau  and 
Kauai,  and  landed  at  Waimea  Bay  on  the  latter 
island  on  the  20th.  He  then  sailed  to  Niihau, 
where  he  spent  a  week  taking  on  provisions  and 
water,  and  trading.  The  general  impression 
among  the  natives  seems  to  have  been  that  Captain 
Cook  was  a  reincarnation  of  the  god  Lono,  and 
that  his  crew  were  supernatural  beings.  Runners, 
who  sailed  in  the  swiftest  canoes,  and  ran  from 
end  to  end  of  the  successive  islands,  were  sent  to 
carry  to  the  different  chiefs  the  news  of  these 
strange  arrivals.  This  is  a  translation  of  their 
message :  "  The  men  are  white ;  their  skin  is  loose 
and  folding;  their  heads  are  angular;  fire  and 
smoke  issue  from  their  mouths ;  they  have  openings 
in  the  sides  of  their  bodies  into  which  they  thrust 
their  hands  and  draw  out  iron,  beads,  nails,  and 
other  treasures,  and  their  speech  is  unintelligible. 
This  is  the  way  they  speak:  'a  hikapalale,  hika- 


32  HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

palale,  hioluai,  oalaki,  walawalaki,  waiki  poha.'  "  * 
Apocryphal  as  this  account  may  conceivably  be, 
it  differs  from  similar  accounts  in  history  and  fic- 
tion of  the  effect  produced  on  the  savage  mind  by 
the  first  sight  of  civilised  white  men,  in  the  extraor- 
dinary and  probably  authentic  exposition  of  the 
English  language  as  it  sounded  to  the  astonished 
ears  of  the  Hawaiians.  It  will  be  noted  that  no 
letters  are  used  which  are  unknown  in  the  native 
tongue. 

In  the  following  November  Captain  Cook  re- 
turned, and,  after  cruising  about  among  the 
Islands,  in  January  set  up  winter  quarters  for 
purposes  of  trade  and  for  making  observations,  at 
Kealakekua  Bay,  on  the  southwest  coast  of  Ha- 
waii. The  priests  constituted  themselves  his 
bodyguard,  offered  sacrifices  to  him  in  the  temple, 
and  made  the  people  worship  him  as  a  god.  Large 
quantities  of  provisions  were  supplied  and  there 
was  no  more  question  of  payment  than  there  would 
have  been  for  offerings  made  to  any  other  god. 
But  in  this  case  the  offerings  were  in  large  quan- 
tities and  were  continuous,  so  that,  after  the  nov- 
elty had  worn  off,  the  heavy  tax  began  to  make 
the  people  restless.  The  outrageous  conduct  of 
the  crew,  also,  over  whom  there  seems  to  have 
been  no  control,  disgusted  them,  and  only  their 

♦Alexander:   "Short  History  of  the   Hawaiian    People," 
p.  107. 


HISTORY  TO  1898  83 

terror  of  the  priests  kept  them  in  subordination. 
The  departure  of  the  strangers,  therefore,  after 
about  three  weeks,  was  a  time  of  great  rejoicing 
among  the  natives — a  joy  unfortunately  short- 
lived, as  the  ships  ran  into  a  severe  storm  and 
were  compelled  to  return  for  repairs.  The  recep- 
tion this  time  was  very  different.  The  priests 
were  still  faithful,  so  provisions  were  grudgingly 
supplied,  but  the  people  were  convinced  that  the 
white  men  were  not  gods,  treated  them  with  con- 
tempt, and  finally  became  so  bold  as  to  steal  a 
ship's  boat.  In  the  fighting  which  ensued  Captain 
Cook  was  killed  by  being  stabbed  in  the  back  with 
an  iron  dagger.  His  body  was  held  by  the  natives 
and  was  that  night  given  formal  funeral  rites. 
His  bones  were  deified.  There  is  no  doubt  that 
in  this  last  affray  the  natives  were  the  aggressors. 
There  is  also  no  doubt  that,  had  the  sailors  been 
kept  in  check  and  the  people  been  treated  with 
decent  consideration,  the  final  tragedy  would  not 
have  occurred.  Stories,  believed  at  the  time  and 
by  many  believed  to  this  day,  that  Captain  Cook's 
body  was  eaten,  are  absolutely  groundless.  The 
Hawaiians  were  never  at  any  time  in  their  history 
cannibals. 

Captain  Cook  named  this  new  land  the  Sand- 
wich Islands,  in  honour  of  his  patron,  the  Earl  of 
Sandwich,  but  it  was  a  name  never  adopted  offi- 
cially and  is  gradually  falling  out  of  use  the  world 


34  HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

over.  The  discovery  of  the  Islands  was  the  in- 
auguration of  a  new  era  in  Hawaiian  affairs. 
Their  isolation  was  over.  New  forces  were  hence- 
forth to  control  their  destiny,  but  it  is  sad  that  the 
first  gift  of  the  white  men  was  disease  and  that 
the  feeling  for  them  left  in  the  minds  of  the  natives 
was  one  of  fear  mingled  with  contempt. 

The  history  of  the  next  thirty  years  is  the  story 
of  the  gradual  conquest  of  the  Islands  by  Kame- 
hameha.  Left,  on  the  death  of  the  old  King,  as 
second  in  power  on  the  Island  of  Hawaii,  he  was 
soon  involved  in  one  of  the  endless  civil  wars,  and 
after  many  reverses  succeeded  in  making  himself 
the  most  powerful  chief  in  the  island,  not  even 
excepting  the  King,  to  whom  he  was  nominally 
subject.  In  1790  a  great  eruption  of  Kilauea, 
which  destroyed  a  large  part  of  his  rival's  army 
that  was  actually  marching  against  him,  convinced 
Kamehameha  that  the  goddess  Pele  was  on  his 
side.  It  was,  however,  not  a  brilliantly  successful 
battle,  but  an  act  of  gross  treachery,  culminating 
in  the  murder  of  the  King  of  Hawaii,  which  gave 
him  the  sovereignty  of  the  island.  In  1795  dis- 
sensions in  the  leeward  islands  made  Kamehameha 
believe  that  the  time  had  come  to  carry  his  con- 
quests across  the  water.  Tradition  reports  the 
strength  of  his  army  as  16,000  men.  Maui  he  took 
with  comparative  ease,  and  Oahu  after  a  fierce 
struggle  in  Nuuanu  Valley,  where  the  survivors  of 


o 
o 


HISTORY  TO  1898  35 

the  opposing  army  were  driven  over  the  precipice 
at  the  head  of  the  valley.  The  invasion  of  Kauai 
was  prevented  once  by  a  storm  which  destroyed 
many  of  the  canoes  which  had  already  set  sail, 
once  by  a  pestilence  which  carried  off  half  of 
Kamehameha's  army.  The  island  was  finally,  in 
1810,  voluntarily  ceded  by  its  king,  who  was,  how- 
ever, given  permission  to  hold  it  in  fief  during  his 
lifetime  on  condition  that  he  make  Liholiho,  Kame- 
hameha's heir,  his  successor.  The  conquest  of  the 
Islands  was  greatly  facilitated  by  the  facts  that 
Kamehameha  was  superior  to  other  chiefs  in  the 
number  of  his  firearms  and  that  he  had  in  his 
service  two  or  three  intelligent  white  men. 

After  the  death  of  Captain  Cook  the  Islands 
were  visited  by  successive  expeditions,  among 
them  those  of  the  well-known  navigators.  Port- 
lock  and  Dixon,  and  La  Perouse,  both  in 
1786.  Captain  Mears  in  1787  took  a  high  chief, 
Kaiana,  a  friend  of  Kamehameha,  on  a  visit  to 
China.  On  the  whole,  explorers  were  friendly, 
but  when  the  captains  of  ships  visiting  the 
Islands  did  not  treat  the  natives  fairly  reprisals 
were  often  severe.  Thus,  for  example,  in  1789, 
a  sloop,  the  Fair  American,  was  captured  and  the 
crew  killed.  The  sloop  was  for  years  used  by 
Kamehameha.  Firearms  were  obtained  by  barter 
and  sometimes  by  theft.  One  explorer.  Captain 
George  Vancouver,  who  had  been  sent  out  by  the 


36  HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

British  Government,  made  three  visits  to  Hawaii 
and  has  always  been  considered  a  benefactor  of  the 
Hawaiian  people.  He  refused  to  sell  firearms ;  he 
gave  much  good  and  sadly  needed  advice ;  he  tried 
to  act  as  mediator  between  warring  factions ;  and 
landed  cattle,  which  had  been  hitherto  unknown, 
but  which  now  increased  rapidly  and  were  of  great 
benefit  to  the  people.  He  it  was,  also,  who  super- 
intended the  construction  of  the  first  vessel  built 
in  the  Islands,  the  Britannia^  which  formed  an  im- 
portant addition  to  Kamehameha's  little  navy.  At 
his  instigation  a  council  of  the  chiefs  was  held 
in  1794,  at  which  it  was  determined  to  place  the 
Islands  under  the  protection  of  Great  Britain,  and 
in  February  of  the  same  year  the  British  flag  was 
hoisted.  If  England  had  ratified  this  voluntary 
cession  the  subsequent  history  of  the  group  would 
have  been  very  different. 

After  the  conquest  of  Oahu  in  1795  Kameha- 
meha's chief  work  consisted  in  consolidating  the 
government.  All  the  power  he  centralised  in  his 
own  hands.  He  broke  up  the  dangerous  influence 
of  ambitious  chiefs  by  apportioning  to  them  land 
in  small  scattered  parcels  instead  of  assigning 
whole  districts,  as  had  been  the  custom,  and  by 
keeping  the  more  turbulent  at  the  court  as  his 
personal  attendants.  He  promoted  agriculture  by 
every  means  in  his  power,  and  so  sternly  reproved 
and  punished  crime  that  serious  off^ences  became 


HISTORY  TO  1898  87 

very  rare.  He  made  intelligent  and  successful 
efforts  to  win  the  approval  and  co-operation  of 
foreigners.  He  supported  rigorously  the  whole, 
complex  mass  of  the  ancient  tabu  system,  which 
was  probably  wise,  since  there  was  nothing  as  yet 
to  replace  the  old  religion,  and  the  tabus  were 
of  great  service  to  him  in  upbuilding  and  perfect- 
ing the  power  of  his  own  personal  rule.  He  was 
eminently  judicious  in  the  choice  of  his  counsellors 
and  in  his  appointments.  He  left  to  his  successor 
a  consistent,  efficient  governmental  system,  so 
thoroughly  centralised,  its  power  so  impressed  on 
the  minds  of  the  people,  that  even  a  weak  king 
and  the  sweeping  changes  of  the  next  few  years 
did  not  affect  its  stability.  For  his  power  as  a 
warrior,  still  more  for  his  sagacity  as  a  ruler, 
Kamehameha  I  is  rightly  considered  the  greatest 
of  the  Hawaiians,  and  under  similar  conditions 
would  have  been  a  great  man  in  any  country. 

At  the  time  that  the  internal  affairs  of  the 
Islands  were  being  put  on  a  stable  basis  their 
opportunities  of  contact  with  the  outer  world 
became  more  frequent  and  their  foreign  relations 
more  important.  During  the  first  quarter  of 
the  nineteenth  century  there  grew  up  a  large 
trade  in  sandal-wood,  which  was  bought  at  a 
preposterously  low  figure,  while  at  the  same 
time  foreign  articles  were  sold  in  Honolulu  at  ex- 
orbitant prices.     The  sandal-wood  trade  was  so 


S8  HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

extensive  and  was  carried  on  with  so  little  thought 
of  the  future  that  the  trees  were  practically 
exterminated  and  are  even  now  very  rare.  Vast 
quantities  of  rum  were  imported  and  stills  for  the 
manufacture  of  a  crude  liquor,  which  was  prac- 
tically all  alcohol,  were  set  up  on  the  different 
islands,  doing  untold  injury  to  the  natives.  At 
this  time  also  the  Russians  carried  on  an  extensive 
trade  with  the  Islands  and  took  an  interest  in 
the  country  apparently  dangerous  to  its  inde- 
pendence. One  trader  went  so  far  as  to  build 
forts  and  to  hoist  the  Russian  flag,  a  proceeding 
which  was  naturally  intensely  irritating  to  the 
King.  To  insure  the  safety  of  Honolulu  a  fort 
was  constructed  in  a  position  commanding  the 
harbour.  This  old  fort  was  long  since  destroyed, 
but  has  left  its  name  in  Fort  Street,  which  once 
led  to  it  and  is  now  the  principal  business  thor- 
oughfare of  the  city. 

Immediately  after  the  death  of  Kamehameha  I 
the  whole  tabu  system  fell  to  pieces  and  with  it 
went  the  ancient  religion,  in  which  the  majority  of 
the  people  had  long  since  ceased  to  believe.  There 
were,  as  might  have  been  expected,  some  few  who 
at  first  refused  to  give  up  their  gods,  but  it  is 
probable  that  even  these  were  actuated  largely  by 
political  ambition,  not  by  any  real  faith;  there 
was  fighting  in  several  places,  but  the  new  King 
and  the  Queen  Regent  soon  put  down  this  incipient 


HISTORY  TO  1898  89 

insurrection.  In  general  the  fervour  of  renuncia- 
tion was  such  that  the  chief  priests  themselves  set 
the  example  of  burning  the  idols,  and  so  complete 
was  the  holocaust  that  but  very  few  were  saved. 
Even  the  museums  have  found  it  difficult  to  obtain 
fair  specimens  of  ancient  Hawaiian  idols.  Out- 
wardly the  destruction  of  the  old  religion  was  com- 
plete, but  certain  superstitions  were  too  deeply 
rooted  in  the  national  character  to  be  quickly 
eradicated  and  have  for  generations  influenced  the 
lives  of  the  people,  even  aff'ecting  their  understand- 
ing of  the  dogmas  of  Christianity.  It  is,  however, 
fair  to  say  that  in  1819  Hawaii  was  a  land  abso- 
lutely without  a  religion.  The  destruction  of  the 
idols  came  about  through  realisation  of  their  im- 
potence, as  manifested  in  the  freedom  from  punish- 
ment of  foreigners  who  made  mock  of  the  tabus 
and  who  desecrated  the  temples.  This  voluntary 
abolition  of  the  old  religion  made  much  easier  the 
task  of  the  American  missionaries  who  arrived  a 
year  later. 

The  coming  of  the  missionaries  was  the  real 
beginning  of  civilisation  in  the  Islands.  Up  to 
1820  the  outside  world  had  given  the  Hawaiians 
little  beside  trinkets,  firearms,  rum,  and  more 
expert  methods  of  deceit.  Now  it  was  to  give  to 
them  their  part  in  the  civilisation  of  Western  na- 
tions, to  teach  them  that  this  involved  the  accept- 
ance of  new  and  higher  ideals  of  conduct,  of  a 


40  HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

religion  to  replace  their  outworn  superstitions; 
that  it  meant  a  life  regulated  according  to  civi- 
lised law.  The  missionaries  undoubtedly  went  to 
Hawaii  fired  with  the  desire  to  save  souls  in  danger 
of  eternal  damnation.  They  seem  very  quickly  to 
have  realised  that  wholesale  baptism,  misunder- 
stood, was  less  important  than  a  general  quicken- 
ing of  spirit,  a  training  in  the  decencies  of  life. 
They  never  neglected  the  religious  side  of  their 
teaching,  but  they  also  never  neglected  the  secular 
side.  They  learned  the  Hawaiian  language;  they 
reduced  it  to  writing  and  imported  printing 
presses ;  they  did  their  best  as  doctors  and  taught 
the  elementary  rules  of  health.  At  first  only  per- 
mitted to  land  on  sufferance,  they  soon  became 
of  prime  importance  to  the  chiefs,  and  were  their 
advisers  on  almost  all  questions.  It  is  fair  to  them 
to  say  that  if  this  function  seemed  an  undue  exten- 
sion of  their  religious  duties — and  their  severest 
critics  never  accuse  them  of  anything  else — they 
were  the  only  foreigners  in  the  Islands  who  would 
advise  the  chiefs  impartially,  and  the  only  ones, 
moreover,  who  would  have  advised  in  such  fashion 
as  to  save  the  dwindling  remnants  of  the  Hawaiian 
race.  They  were  pioneers  seeking  results  in  bet- 
ter men,  not  in  riches  for  themselves;  they  were 
trying  to  give  the  people  their  own  standards  of 
decency  and  honour.  This  soon  resulted  in  bitter 
opposition  from  the  foreign  riffraff  who  infested 


HISTORY  TO  1898  41 

the  Islands,  and  especially   from  the  ships   that 
called  more  and  more  frequently. 

It  was  the  fixed  belief  of  ship  captains  in  those 
distant  days  that  no  laws,  whether  of  God  or  man, 
were  in  force  west  of  Cape  Horn.  The  call  at 
Hawaii  for  water  and  provisions  was  most  of  all 
an  opportunity  for  debauchery  and  unchecked 
crime.  Hawaiian  women  were  often  captured  and 
carried  off  on  cruises  to  the  North.  When  a 
whaler  appeared  off  the  coast  many  of  the  native 
women  fled  to  the  mountains  as  their  only  sure 
protection.  It  is  easy  to  understand,  therefore, 
that  when  the  King  promulgated  laws  against  im- 
morality, laws  evidently  intended  to  be  enforced, 
the  whaling  crews  considered  themselves  cheated 
out  of  their  rights  and  turned  with  rage  against 
the  missionaries,  whom  they  correctly  held  to  be 
responsible.  In  more  than  one  instance  brutal 
attacks  were  made  on  missionaries  in  isolated  sta- 
tions, who  were  saved  only  by  the  devoted  natives. 
It  is  sad  to  think  that  the  commander  of  a  United 
States  frigate  was  among  the  most  insolent  in  the 
demand  for  the  repeal  of  these  laws  against  vice, 
and  that  he  permitted  his  men  to  attack  both  the 
house  of  a  chief  and  the  mission  premises  in 
Honolulu  for  the  purpose  of  frightening  the 
Government  into  submission.  Drink  was  carry- 
ing off  the  Hawaiians  by  hundreds,  and  when, 
in    recognition    of    the    danger,    a    heavy    duty 


42  HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

was  laid  on  spirits,  it  was  the  commander  of 
a  French  frigate  who  gave  the  King  a 
few  hours  to  decide  whether  he  would  abolish 
the  duty  or  undertake  a  war  with  France. 
These  outrages  and  many  others  of  a  similar  kind 
directed  against  efforts  really  to  uplift  the  coun- 
try were  seconded  by  a  party  in  Honolulu,  a  party,, 
unfortunately,  headed  by  the  British  consul  who 
was  for  years  allowed  to  retain  his  post  in  spite 
of  repeated  protests  and  requests  for  his  removal 
on  the  part  of  the  Hawaiian  Government. 

Internal  affairs,  in  the  meantime,  had  been  ably 
managed  by  the  Queen  Regent,  Kaahumanu,  who 
was  a  wife  of  Kamehameha  I.  The  King,  Liholiho, 
or  Kamehameha  II,  was  weak  and  dissipated  and 
finally  died  while  on  a  trip  to  England.  The  Queen 
Regent  held  the  power  until  her  death,  and  then 
appointed  Kinau,  a  daughter  of  Kamehameha  I, 
who,  although  an  able  woman,  was  not  as  forceful 
as  Kaahumanu,  to  succeed  her  during  the  minority 
of  the  young  King.  It  seems  to  have  been  a  well- 
established  custom  to  have  a  woman  hold,  with  the 
King,  the  regal  power.  Kamehameha  III  also  was 
inclined  to  be  of  weak  moral  fibre,  and  every  effort 
was  made  by  the  lower  class  of  foreigners  to 
destroy  his  health  and  to  subvert  his  vaguely  good 
intentions  by  leading  him  into  every  form  of  dis- 
sipation. He  was,  however,  protected,  as  his 
predecessor   had  not   been,   and    his    long    reign 


HISTORY  TO  1898  43 

(1824-1854)  was,  on  the  whole,  a  time  of  pros- 
perity and  of  rapid  progress.  Education  became 
general,  laws  were  fixed,  the  troubles  concerning 
the  Roman  Catholic  religion  were  brought  to  a 
satisfactory  conclusion  by  an  edict  of  general 
toleration.  These  troubles,  which  at  one  time 
threatened  to  produce  international  complications, 
the  King  refusing  to  permit  Catholic  missionaries 
to  land,  were  occasioned  largely  by  the  fact  that 
Hawaiians  had  been  accustomed  for  centuries  to 
look  on  religion  as  an  integral  part  of  the  Gov- 
ernment and,  therefore,  to  consider  a  man  who 
professed  a  different  creed  from  that  of  the  King 
as  necessarily  a  rebel.  To  Kamehameha  III  also 
is  due  the  credit  of  giving  to  the  kingdom  a  liberal 
constitution,  which  allowed  it  to  be  ranked  in  the 
company  of  civilised  nations. 

It  was  during  this  reign  that  a  great  impetus 
was  given  to  the  development  of  property  by  the 
enactment  of  laws  concerning  private  owner- 
ship of  land,  which  laws  finally  did  away  with  the 
ancient  theory  that  the  title  of  all  lands  rested  in 
the  chief.  A  land  commission  decided  that  one- 
third  of  all  the  land  was  the  property  of  the  King, 
one-third  the  property  of  the  chiefs,  and  the  final 
third  of  the  common  people.  The  King,  a  few  days 
after  this  decision,  turned  over  half  of  his  share 
to  be  forever  used  as  Government  land,  his  own 
portion  being  called  the  Crown  land.     As  many 


44  HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

of  the  chiefs  followed  his  generous  example,  the 
Government  came  into  possession  of  nearly  a  third 
of  the  land  of  the  Islands.  The  land  commission 
also  undertook  the  arduous  task  of  proving  claims 
and  issuing  titles.  It  being  now  possible  to  hold 
real  property  in  fee  simple,  to  buy  it  and  to  sell 
it,  men  who  were  at  last  owners  instead  of  merely 
tenants  were  willing  to  make  extensive  improve- 
ments. Foreigners  also  were  able  to  acquire  land 
and  were  no  longer  considered  as  sojourners  at  the 
will  of  the  King. 

Another  important  achievement  was  the  success 
of  the  King's  commissioners  in  obtaining  definite 
recognition  of  Hawaiian  independence  by  England, 
France,  and  the  United  States,  Daniel  Webster 
stating  on  behalf  of  the  United  States  that  "  the 
government  of  the  Sandwich  Islands  ought  to  be 
respected ;  that  no  power  ought  to  take  possession 
of  the  Islands,  either  as  a  conquest  or  for  the  pur- 
pose of  colonisation;  and  that  no  power  ought 
to  seek  for  any  undue  control  over  the  existing 
government,  or  any  exclusive  privileges  or  prefer- 
ences in  matters  of  commerce."  News  of  this  for- 
eign recognition  was  not  received,  however,  before 
Lord  George  Paulet,  commanding  H.  M.  S.  Carys- 
fort,  had  provisionally  annexed  the  Islands  to 
Great  Britain.  He  acted  arbitrarily  on  the  insti- 
gation of  the  deputy  of  that  indefatigable  trouble- 
maker, the  British  consul,  who,  after  this  episode, 


HISTORY  TO  1898  45 

was  finally  removed.  The  alleged  reason  for  the 
annexation  given  by  Lord  Paulet  was  the  unwill- 
ingness of  the  Hawaiian  Government  to  settle  cer- 
tain disputes  in  favour  of  British  subjects.  The 
King,  refusing  to  accede  to  any  further  demands, 
said,  "  I  will  not  die  piecemeal ;  they  may  cut 
off  my  head  at  once."  The  lowering  of  the  Ha- 
waiian flag  and  the  hoisting  of  the  British  flag 
in  its  place  occurred  on  February  18th,  1844,  and 
for  five  months  the  Islands  were  governed  by  a 
British  commission.  In  July  Admiral  Thomas,  in 
command  of  Her  Majesty's  forces  in  the  Pacific, 
arrived  in  Honolulu,  and  with  all  possible  cere- 
mony promptly  restored  the  Hawaiian  flag.  The 
open  space  east  of  the  town,  where  the  restoration 
was  made,  was  set  aside  as  a  public  park  and  is 
called  Thomas  Square.  It  is  interesting  to  note 
also  that  in  a  speech  at  a  great  meeting  of  thanks- 
giving and  rejoicing  in  the  afternoon  the  King 
used  the  words  which  were  afterwards  adopted  as 
the  national  motto :  "  Ua  mau  ke  ea  o  ka  aina  i 
ka  pono,"  meaning  "  The  strength  of  the  land  is 
perpetuated  by  righteousness."  Except  for  an 
absurd  and  meaningless  occupation  by  France  for 
a  few  days  in  1849,  the  autonomy  of  the  Islands 
was  never  again  questioned. 

At  this  time  the  diff*erent  departments  of  gov- 
ernment, executive,  legislative,  and  judicial,  were 
created  in  substantially  the  form  that  they  held 


HISTORY  TO  1898  47 

ably  from  the  Orient,  about  1850,  and  was  spread- 
ing among  Hawaiians  in  an  alarming  manner. 
The  Islands  were  made  more  accessible  by  the 
starting  of  a  line  of  steamers  between  San  Fran- 
cisco and  Australia  which  made  Honolulu  a  port 
of  call. 

With  the  death  of  Kamehameha  V,  after  a  short 
reign,  the  old  royal  line  came  to  an  end.  The  King 
had  not  exercised  his  right  of  appointing  a  suc- 
cessor and,  therefore,  a  general  election  was  held, 
in  which  Prince  William  C.  Lunalilo,  who  was 
considered  the  chief  of  highest  rank  in  the  Islands, 
was  elected  as  sovereign.  He  died  a  year  later, 
not  neglecting  to  appoint  his  successor,  but  declar- 
ing that  the  King  ought  to  be  elected  by  the 
people. 

In  1874,  therefore,  David  Kalakaua,  also  a 
high  chief,  was  elected  to  succeed  him.  The 
triumph  of  his  reign  was  the  securing  of  a  treaty 
of  commercial  reciprocity  by  which  Hawaiian 
sugar  and  a  few  other  products  were  admitted 
free  of  duty  into  the  United  States.  In  return 
Hawaii,  besides  making  a  general  remission 
of  duties,  gave  to  the  United  States  the  use 
of  Pearl  Harbour,  as  a  coaling  or  naval  station. 
This  treaty  assured  the  prosperity  of  the  Islands 
and  marked  the  definite  establishment  of  the  great 
industries.  Labourers  were  imported  from  China, 
Japan,  the  Azores,  and  Madeira.    From  these  At- 


48  HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

lantic  islands  over  ten  thousand  Portuguese  mi- 
grated to  Hawaii,  where  climatic  conditions  were 
similar  to  what  they  were  accustomed  to  and  where 
opportunities  for  remunerative  industry  were 
greater.  King  Kalakaua  was,  however,  unable  to 
read  the  signs  of  the  times  in  the  rapid  decrease 
of  the  native  population  and  in  the  even  more 
rapid  increase  of  the  foreign  population,  and  was 
determined  to  restore  to  his  government  much  of 
the  autocratic  royal  authority  that  had  been  volun- 
tarily ceded  in  the  constitution  given  by  Kame- 
hameha  III.  So  strained  did  popular  feeling  run 
that  in  1887  there  was  a  bloodless  revolution,  in 
consequence  of  which  the  King  was  forced  to  sign 
an  even  more  liberal  constitution,  that  made  the 
cabinet  responsible  only  to  the  legislature,  and 
that  prevented  the  legislators  from  holding  any 
other  office.  This  reform,  which  was  bitterly  op- 
posed by  the  personal  adherents  of  the  King,  led 
t\\^o  years  later  to  an  insurrection,  in  which  the 
I^ihg  himself,  however,  took  no  direct  part,  and 
which  was  promptly  quelled,  with  the  loss  of  seven 
^men  among  the  rebels.  Kalakaua  was  a  pictur- 
esque figure,  personally  affable  and  intelligent. 
On  a  trip  around  the  world,  ostensibly  to  look 
into  the  question  of  the  importation  of  labourers, 
he  was  everywhere  treated  with  royal  honour,  was 
universally  liked,  and  was  given  the  most  friendly 
aid  in  cgllecting  information  for  the  good  of  his 


HISTORY  TO  1898  49 

own  kingdom.  In  a  book  entitled  "  Around  the 
World  with  a  King,"  this  tour  has  been  most 
amusingly  treated,  although,  it  must  be  admitted, 
with  ungenerous  sarcasm,  by  Mr.  W.  N.  Arm- 
strong, who  accompanied  him  as  Commissioner  of 
Immigration. 

Kalakaua  died  in  San  Francisco  in  January, 
1891,  and  his  body  was  brought  to  Honolulu  in 
the  U.  S.  S.  Charleston.  His  sister,  Liliuokalani, 
whom  he  had  nominated  as  his  successor,  was  im- 
mediately proclaimed  Queen.  Even  more  than  her 
brother  had  been  was  she,  unfortunately,  eager  to 
remove  the  constitutional  restrictions  on  the  power 
of  the  Crown,  and  her  wishes  were  fervently  sec- 
onded, if  not  actually  induced,  by  unscrupulous 
advisers,  who  saw  in  any  political  upheaval  op- 
portunities for  their  own  aggrandisement.  Polit- 
ical intrigue  became  the  business  of  certain  ambi- 
tious foreigners  and  Hawaiians  of  mixed  blood, 
whose  purely  selfish  purposes  were  evident  from 
the  fact  that  when  the  Queen  was  not  with  them 
they  intrigued  with  unabated  ardour  against  her. 
It  was  significant  that  the  best  of  the  Hawaiians, 
as  well  as  the  better  element  of  the  white  popula- 
tion, stood  aloof  from  the  struggles.  During  the 
last  week  of  the  long  legislative  sessions  of  1892 
two  obnoxious  bills  were  passed,  one  licensing  the 
sale  of  opium,  one  granting"  a  franchise  to  estab- 
lish a  lottery.     Public  feeling  was  intense,  and 


50  HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

when  it  became  known  that  a  new  constitution, 
doing  awaj  with  all  restrictions  on  the  royal  au- 
thority, limiting  the  franchise  to  Hawaiians,  and 
destroying  the  guarantees  of  the  judiciary,  had 
been  drawn  up  and  was  about  to  be  promulgated, 
the  leading  citizens  saw  that  decisive  action  had 
become  necessary.  On  January  16,  1893,  a  Com- 
mittee of  Safety  was  appointed  and  on  the  next 
day  a  Provisional  Government,  having  general 
legislative  authority,  was  established.  Unfortu- 
nately, troops  were  landed  from  the  U.  S.  S.  Bos- 
ton to  protect  the  lives  and  property  of  American 
citizens,  an  act  that  later  gave  to  the  royalists  the 
claim  which  so  appealed  to  President  Cleveland, 
that  the  royal  government  had  submitted  only  to 
the  forces  of  the  United  States.  In  view  of  this 
landing  of  troops,  the  Queen  surrendered  her  au- 
thority under  protest,  pending  her  appeal  to 
Washington.  A  commission  of  the  Provisional 
Government  was  immediately  sent  to  the  United 
States  to  negotiate  a  treaty  of  annexation.  Such 
a  treaty  was  actually  drawn  up  by  the  Secretary 
of  State,  signed,  and  submitted  to  the  Senate.  It 
was  not  acted  upon  before  the  end  of  the  session, 
but  in  the  meantime  a  Provisional  Protectorate  of 
the  Islands  was  proclaimed.  President  Cleveland, 
immediately  after  his  inauguration,  sent  a  com- 
missioner to  Honolulu  to  take  evidence,  declared 
the  protectorate  at  an  end,  and  later  urged  the 


HISTORY  TO  1898  51 

restoration  of  the  Queen.  To  this,  however,  the 
Provisional  Government  refused  to  accede,  and, 
as  annexation  seemed  indefinitely  postponed,  took 
immediate  steps  toward  the  framing  of  a  constitu- 
tion. On  July  3,  1894,  the  Republic  of  Hawaii 
was  proclaimed,  with  Sanford  B.  Dole,  a  man  who 
throughout  his  life  had  been  identified  with  all  that 
was  least  partisan  and  most  upright  in  the  Islands, 
as  the  first  President. 

In  1895  there  occurred  an  insurrection,  again 
planned  by  the  disaffected  part-Hawaiians  rather 
than  by  the  full-blooded  natives.  It  was  put  down 
with  the  loss  of  very  few  lives,  but  resulted  in  a 
trial  for  treason  of  the  Queen  and  nearly  two  hun- 
dred others,  to  all  of  whom  conditional  pardons 
were  granted.  This  ended  the  internal  troubles 
of  the  Republic,  but  complications  with  Japan 
concerning  immigration  grew  more  and  more  diffi- 
cult to  cope  with,  and  the  only  safety  seemed  to 
be  in  annexation  to  the  United  States.  Negotia- 
tions to  this  end  were  renewed  immediately  after 
the  inauguration  of  President  McKinley.  Whether 
these  negotiations  under  ordinary  circumstances 
would  have  been  more  successful  than  were  their 
predecessors  is  a  question,  but  during  the  war 
with  Spain  the  strategical  importance  of  the  Isl- 
ands to  the  United  States  becoming  evident,  a 
joint  resolution  of  annexation  was  put  through 
Congress  on  July  7,  1898.    This  was  accepted  by 


52  HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

the  Government  of  the  Republic  of  Hawaii  and 
annexation  became  an  accomplished  fact  on  Au- 
gust 12th.  Hawaii  ceased  to  exist  as  an  independ- 
ent nation  and  became  an  integral  part  of  the 
United  States. 


CHAPTER  IV 

HAWAH   AS   A   TERRITORY 

Under  the  Republic  of  Hawaii  many  Hawaiians 
had  refused  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  and  had, 
therefore,  been  unable  to  vote.  Even  the  most  in- 
tractable saw,  however,  that  no  dissatisfied  element 
in  a  United  States  Territory  would  have  the  re- 
motest chance  of  carrying  through  a  revolution. 
Restoration  of  the  monarchy  suddenly  became  a 
dead  issue.  But  to  the  leaders  such  restoration  had 
never  been  more  than  an  incident  in  the  scramble 
for  personal  power  and,  instructed  by  Americans 
even  more  frankly  rapacious  than  they  were  them- 
selves, they  saw  in  the  control  of  the  Territorial 
Government  political  opportunities  that  were  well 
worth  seizing.  The  Governor  was  appointed  by 
the  President.  That  office  was,  at  least  for  the 
moment,  therefore,  out  of  reach,  but  the  election 
of  a  delegate  to  Washington  and  the  control  of 
the  home  legislature  were  both  worth  striving  for. 
A  so-called  Home  Rule  party  was  promptly  formed 
— the  meaningless  name  was  intended  to  catch  the 
ignorant  and  disgruntled — and  all  Hawaiians  were 
urged  by  the  agitators  to  cast  their  votes  in  the 
coming  elections.     The  victory  of  the  new  party 


54  HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

was  overwhelming.  It  controlled  the  legislature 
and  it  sent  as  Congressional  Delegate  Robert  Wil- 
cox, a  confirmed  intriguer,  who  had  in  the  past 
plotted  against  nearly  everything,  including  the 
monarchy  itself,  and  who  had  led  the  abortive 
insurrection  of  1895.  In  Washington,  to  his  great 
surprise,  he  found  himself  an  extremely  unimpor- 
tant personage.  Congressmen  preferred  to  con- 
sult the  unofficial  representative  of  the  Honolulu 
Merchants'  Association  and  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce, a  man  who  really  understood  and  would 
tell  the  truth  about  Island  conditions  and  needs. 
Only  a  small  amount  of  Hawaiian  business  was 
transacted  by  Congress,  and  even  with  that  little 
the  delegate's  most  staunch  supporters  were  unable 
to  credit  him.  At  home,  in  the  meantime,  the 
Home  Rule  legislators  were  showing  their  inca- 
pacity. Bills  of  no  importance  were  discussed  at 
great  length,  and  so  much  time  was  spent  by  the 
legislature  of  1901  in  the  consideration  of  a  bill 
for  the  encouragement  of  female  dogs  that  it  suc- 
ceeded in  immortalising  itself  under  the  name  of 
the  Female  Dog  Legislature.  Its  more  absurd 
measures  were  naturally  vetoed  by  the  Governor, 
and  the  Home  Rule  party  finally  made  itself  so 
ridiculous  that  although  it  still  exists  in  name  it 
controls  very  few  votes.  Very  soon,  also,  the  two 
regular  American  parties  had  properly  organised 
and  have  never  been  outnumbered  by  the  Home 


HAWAII  AS  A  TERRITORY  55 

Rulers  except  in  the  first  election,  that  of  1900. 
The  votes  cast  for  the  Delegate  to  Congress  at 
that  election  were :  Republican  3,856,  Democratic 
1,650,  Home  Rule  4,083.  In  1910  the  numbers 
were :  Republican  8,049,  Democratic  4,503,  Home 
Rule  989.  The  Republicans,  who  have  been  in 
the  majority  since  1902,  sent  as  delegate  Prince 
Kuhio  Kalaneanaole,  a  nephew  of  the  Queen  of 
King  Kalakaua,  and  himself  a  chief  by  birth.* 
The  political  machinery  of  the  Territory  is  at 
present  similar  to  that  of  any  of  the  States  on  the 
mainland.  As  there  is  no  prohibitive  clause  in  the 
organic  act  there  is  no  reason  why  the  Territory 
should  not  eventually  apply  for  admission  to  the 
Union  as  a  State.  There  is  every  reason,  on  the 
other  hand,  why  such  application  should  not  be 
made  until  conditions  have  become  fixed  and  the 
American  population  is  greater. 

This  ultimate  possibility  was  recognised  by  the 
United  States  when  the  Islands  were  constituted 
a  Territory  instead  of  a  "  possession  "  with  a  dis- 
tinct form  of  government  such  as  was  devised  for 
Porto  Rico  and  the  Philippines.  It  was  a  pos- 
sibility which  Congress  was  willing  to  accept,  since 
they  saw  that  Hawaii  was  already  American  in 
language  and  institutions  and  that  for  it,  in  con- 
sequence, a  Territorial  Government  was  as  proper 

♦  In  1912  the  Territory,  like  most  of  the  States  on  the  main> 
land,  went  Democratic. 


56  HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

as  for  Arizona,  whereas  a  people  whose  ideals  and 
language  were  Spanish  must  go  through  a  long 
period  of  probation  before  they  were  fit  to  take 
their  independent  place  in  the  American  political 
system.  From  the  beginning  the  policy  pursued 
toward  Hawaii  has  been  a  wise  one.  The  Gov- 
ernors appointed  have  not  been  strangers,  but 
citizens  of  Honolulu  thoroughly  conversant  with 
Island  problems.  And  to  a  large  extent  this  has 
been  the  case  with  other  Federal  appointments. 
Hawaii  has  so  far  mercifully  been  spared  purely 
political  appointments  dealt  out  as  rewards. 
The  result  has  been  proper  appreciation  of 
Island  needs  because  of  proper  representation 
at  Washington,  and  at  home  steady  progress  that 
would  not  otherwise  have  been  possible. 

Looking  at  the  matter  purely  from  the  Hawaiian 
point  of  view,  American  annexation  has  been,  in 
the  main,  of  great  benefit.  One  often  hears  the 
remark,  to  be  sure,  "  It  was  not  this  way  before," 
— "  before  "  always  referring  to  the  years  prior 
to  1898, — and  certain  it  is  that  society,  without  the 
court  as  a  picturesque  centre,  with  many  of  the 
delightful  English  residents  replaced  by  a  purely 
commercial  class  of  Americans,  has  lost  much  of 
its  charm.  Economically,  also,  the  operation  of 
the  Chinese  exclusion  law  has  caused  serious  difli- 
culties  to  Island  industries.  In  contrast  to  this, 
however,  the  ever  present,  if  perhaps  unfounded, 


o 


G 

c 


o 
o 

D 

o 


HAWAII  AS  A  TERRITORY  57 

fear  of  seizure  by  Japan  was  at  once  removed. 
Trade  benefits,  already  enjoyed  under  the  Reci- 
procity Treaty,  were  made  certain  for  all  time. 
The  very  difficulty  of  the  labour  situation  should 
lead  eventually  to  the  forming  of  a  more  stable 
population  and  of  a  more  dependable  labouring 
class. 

The  aid  of  the  Federal  Government  makes  pos- 
sible the  prosecution  of  necessary  public  works, 
which  the  limited  resources  of  the  Kingdom  and  of 
the  Republic  did  not  permit.  The  Islands  have  long 
been  in  dire  need  of  adequate  harbour  facilities. 
The  work  of  dredging,  deepening,  and  building 
breakwaters  is  rapidly  being  carried  on  under  ap- 
propriations of  Congress,  supplemented  by  grants 
from  Territorial  funds.  Honolulu  harbour  is  good 
but  small,  and  is  being  enlarged,  not  only  to  satisfy 
present  needs,  but  to  meet  the  greater  demands 
that  will  arise  after  the  completion  of  ^he  Panama 
Canal.  At  Hilo  a  breakwater  2,528  feet  long  has 
been  contracted  for,  and  docks  are  being  con- 
structed to  accommodate  the  largest  seagoing  ves- 
sels. A  breakwater  at  Kahului,  the  principal  port 
of  Maui,  is  being  built  as  an  extension  of  one 
already  constructed  by  the  local  railway  company. 
Surveys  are  being  made  to  decide  what  harbour  on 
Kauai  is  most  suitable  for  extensive  development. 
It  is  intended  eventually  to  have,  on  all  the  im- 
portant islands,  landing  places  which  will  afford 


58  HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

adequate  shelter  in  all  weather.  So  far  the  most 
notable  work  of  the  kind  has  been,  of  course,  that 
at  Pearl  Harbour,  already  carried  out  by  the 
Navy  Department. 

In  the  Archives  Building  in  Honolulu  was  re- 
cently found  an  old  letter  written  by  Lieutenant 
Curtis  on  board  the  U.  S.  frigate  Constitution — 
"  Old  Ironsides  " — to  the  Hawaiian  Minister  of 
Foreign  Affairs.  In  it  he  said :  "  Allow  me  to  call 
your  attention  to  the  importance  of  Pearl  Har- 
bour, the  perfect  security  of  the  harbour,  the  excel- 
lence of  its  water,  the  perfect  ease  with  which  it  can 
be  made  one  of  the  finest  places  in  the  Islands,  all 
of  which  combine  to  make  it  a  great  consideration. 
While  the  harbour  was  clearing  out  fortifications 
could  be  built,  troops  could  be  drilled,  the  forts 
might  be  garrisoned.  Government  storehouses  built. 
The  amount  of  money  to  be  expended  will  be  but 
a  feather  in  comparison  with  the  almost  incalcula- 
ble amount  of  wealth  that  will  result  upon  the 
completion  of  these  objects."  So,  for  the  last  half- 
century  and  more.  United  States  naval  officers ' 
have  dwelt  on  the  limitless  strategic  importance 
of  this  remarkable  harbour,  which  actually  came 
under  American  domination,  not  when  the  Islands 
were  annexed  under  President  McKinley,  but  when 
the  Reciprocity  Treaty  was  carried  through  dur- 
ing the  administration  of  President  Grant.  Pearl 
Harbour,  eight  miles  west  of  Honolulu,  is  con- 


HAWAII  AS  A  TERRITOiaY  6^ 

nected  with  the  open  sea  by  a  narrow  channel  only. 
It  contains  10  square  miles  of  navigable  water 
that  is  absolutely  calm  in  any  weather.  The  only 
harbour  of  real  importance  in  the  Islands,  it  is 
much  finer  than  any  on  the  Pacific  slope  of  the 
mainland.  The  difficulty  in  making  it  practicable 
lay  in  the  shallow  bar  at  the  entrance  and  in  the 
tortuous  channel  leading  to  the  deep  inner  locks. 
In  1908  a  contract  was  signed  with  a  Hawaiian 
company  for  the  dredging  work,  which  included 
the  removal  of  the  bar,  the  straightening  of  the 
channel,  and  the  excavation  for  a  drydock.  The 
first  part  of  this  extremely  difficult  work  has  been 
completed,  and  on  December  14,  1911,  the  United 
States  armoured  cruiser  California  steamed 
through  the  entrance,  up  the  almost  straight  four- 
and-a-half-mile  channel,  and  anchored  in  the  inner 
harbour  opposite  the  partly  finished  drydock.  This 
was  the  first  large  vessel  ever  to  reach  the  inner 
harbour.  Among  the  admiral's  invited  guests  were 
Queen  Liliuokalani  and  Judge  Dole,  first  Governor 
of  the  Territory — a  pleasant  commentary  on  the 
relations  between  the  warring  factions  of  old. 
Thus,  at  a  cost  of  about  $3,000,000,  this  part  of 
the  great  work  is  nearing  completion,  and  to-day 
the  entire  United  States  Navy,  or  any  navy  that 
we  may  eventually  have,  might  steam  into  the 
harbour  and  find  safe  anchorage. 

Curiously  have  the  old-time  recommendations  of 


60  HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

Lieutenant  Curtis  to  the  Hawaiian  Government 
been  followed  by  the  Army  and  Navy  of  his  own 
country.  While  the  dredging  was  being  done 
seven  great  industrial  buildings,  including  forge 
shops,  a  power  house,  a  foundry,  repair  shops, 
and  a  storehouse,  have  been  constructed.  Marine 
barracks  and  officers'  quarters  are  standing  on  the 
plain  back  of  the  harbour.  Fort  Kamehameha,  with 
its  powerful  guns  of  most  modern  type,  guards 
the  channel  leading  to  the  sea.  In  different  army 
posts  throughout  the  Islands  troops  have  been 
drilling.  Lieutenant  Curtis  did  not  mention  a 
drydock  because  he  could  not  foresee  the  dread- 
noughts of  modem  days.  So,  in  addition  to  his 
recommendations,  this  is  being  constructed,  a  dry- 
dock  820  feet  long,  110  feet  wide,  and  35  feet 
deep,  which  will  require  in  the  making  thousands 
of  tons  of  rocks  and  over  250,000  barrels  of 
cement,  which  will  cost  $4,000,000  but  will,  when 
completed,  hold  the  greatest  naval  vessels  in  the 
world.  Connected  with  the  station  there  will  be 
also  an  administration  building,  a  coaling  plant, 
an  immense  floating  crane,  hospitals,  and  a  powder 
magazine.  Much  work  must  still  be  done  in  the 
construction  of  sea  walls,  street  paving,  and  in 
general  yard  development,  yet  it  is  expected  that 
the  station  will  be  completed  early  in  1915.  All 
this  has,  of  course,  given  work  to  thousands  of 
American  citizens  on  the  spot,  and  has  been,  as 


HAWAII  AS  A  TERRITORY  61 

well,  a  stimulus  to  industrial  enterprises  in  Hono- 
lulu, both  in  the  furnishing  of  material  and  in 
the  extension  of  transportation  facilities. 

But  the  work  at  Pearl  Harbour  is  in  preparation 
for  only  one  of  the  many  military  posts  that  are 
expected  to  make  Oahu  one  of  the  most  strongly 
fortified  places  in  the  world.  All  these  posts  will 
be  on  the  southern  and  western  slopes  of  the 
island,  since  the  precipitous  mountains  on  the 
windward  side  make  an  attack  from  that  quarter 
physically  impossible.  What  is  more,  the  impreg- 
nability of  Oahu  will  make  untenable  in  case  of 
war  the  permanent  occupation  of  any  of  the  other 
islands,  since  there  are  in  them  no  harbours  suit- 
able for  battleships  which  could  possibly  be  de- 
fended. At  the  base  of  Diamond  Head,  Fort  Ruger, 
with  its  concrete  buildings  for  barracks  and 
quarters  and  its  heavy  seacoast  guns,  garrisoned 
by  two  companies  of  the  Coast  Artillery  Corps,  is 
the  headquarters  of  the  Artillery  District  of  Hono- 
lulu. Fort  de  Russy  at  Waikiki,  a  fortified  post 
without,  as  yet,  permanent  barracks,  is  the  head- 
quarters of  the  Engineer  Battalion.  Fort  Arm- 
strong, guarding  Honolulu  harbour,  is  also  a 
fortified  post  and  serves  as  saluting  station  of  the 
port.  Fort  Shafter  at  Moanalua,  a  few  miles 
northwest  of  Honolulu,  is  a  post  consisting  of 
frame  buildings,  and  is  garrisoned  by  a  battalion 
of  infantry.     Schofield  Barracks,  on  the  upland 


62  HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

plains  between  the  Waianae  and  Koolau  ranges  of 
mountains,  is  garrisoned  by  a  large  force,  which 
includes  all  branches  of  the  mobile  forces.  The 
District  of  Hawaii,  which  includes  the  Hawaiian 
Islands  and  their  dependencies,  was,  in  October, 
1911,  created  an  independent  military  department, 
with  headquarters  in  Honolulu.  All  the  garrisons 
are  gradually  being  increased,  and  it  is  probable 
that  eventually  10,000  men,  exclusive  of  naval  and 
marine  forces,  will  be  stationed  on  the  Island  of 
Oahu.  Already  the  military  is  almost  as  much  in 
evidence  in  Honolulu  as  it  is  in  Gibraltar,  and, 
unless  the  city  continues  to  grow,  it  seems  as 
though  in  a  few  years  the  civil  costume  would  be 
the  exception  rather  than  the  rule. 

All  this  costly  military  preparation  may  seem 
to  the  unthinking,  or  to  those  so  peace-loving  that 
they  see  in  every  gun  a  threat  of  war,  a  waste  of 
national  funds.  It  is,  on  the  contrary,  profoundly 
foresighted,  since  the  Pacific  Ocean  is  rapidly  be- 
coming the  theatre  where  world  powers  are  striving 
for  commercial  and  military  supremacy.  The 
Hawaiian  Islands,  situated  at  the  cross-roads  of 
traffic,  the  only  available  stopping-place  in  the 
whole  vast  extent  of  the  North  Pacific,  will  enable 
the  United  States  absolutely  to  command  the 
ocean  against  an  Asiatic  or  any  other  power,  by 
making  an  overseas  attack  too  dangerous  to  be 
attempted.     No  modern  war-fleet  would  dare  to 


o 


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C 

S3 

c 

3 


HAWAII  AS  A  TERRITORY  63 

get  4,000  miles  away  from  a  base  of  supplies. 
This  great,  impregnable  oasis  of  the  ocean,  more- 
over, will  insure  the  safety  of  the  important  trade 
routes  and  will  thus  supplement  the  international 
value  of  the  Panama  Canal. 

The  Territory  has  been,  aside  from  its  naval 
and  military  value,  a  paying  investment  for  the 
United  States.  The  customs  receipts  have  in- 
creased every  year,  and  in  1911  amounted  to  more 
than  $1,650,000.  Imports  from  the  mainland 
have  increased  in  value  from  $12,000,000  in  1903 
to  $22,000,000  in  1911.  By  the  terms  of  annexa- 
tion both  the  Government  and  Crown  lands  became 
the  property  of  the  United  States,  lands  aggre- 
gating over  half  of  the  real  property  in  the  Isl- 
ands. It  has  always  been  a  disputed  question  with 
regard  to  the  Crown  lands  as  to  whether  or  not 
some  compensation  should  be  made  to  the  Queen, 
the  income  of  these  lands  having  been  at  the  per- 
sonal disposition  of  the  sovereign.  Legal  opinion 
seems  to  hold,  however,  that  the  lands  were  held 
by  the  Crown  in  virtue  of  office,  and  that  the  trans- 
fer of  the  sovereignty  carried  with  it  transfer  of 
title.  In  spite  of  this,  most  inhabitants  of  the 
Territory  feel  that  it  would  not  have  been  a  strain- 
ing of  justice  to  give  the  Queen  some  compensa- 
tion, and  that  the  courtesy  of  the  act  would  have 
done  away  finally  with  any  lingering  resentment 
among  the  Hawaiian  people.     Laws  relating  to 


64  HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

all  public  lands  are  enacted  by  Congress  and 
have  been  so  framed  as  to  offer  every  inducement 
to  bona-fide  homesteading,  and  at  the  same  time 
to  discourage  occupancy  for  speculative  purposes. 
The  amount  of  arable  land  is  comparatively  small, 
and  it  is  rightly  considered  wiser  to  get  whatever 
income  is  possible  by  leasing  than  to  allow  it  to  fall 
permanently  into  other  hands  than  those  of  desir- 
able settlers,  men  who  will  not  only  improve  their 
own  holdings,  but  will  raise  community  standards. 
The  schools  in  the  Territory,  all  of  which  are 
conducted  in  English,  had  enrolled  in  1911  26,122 
pupils,  of  whom  20,597  were  in  the  public  schools, 
5,525  in  the  private.  There  was  a  total  of  799 
teachers,  of  whom  374  were  American.  Education 
is  compulsory  and  free,  and  is  as  efficient  in  Hawaii 
in  all  branches  below  those  of  the  university  as  it 
is  in  any  part  of  the  United  States.  It  was  said 
a  few  years  ago  that,  excluding  the  Orientals,  the 
proportion  of  illiterates  in  the  Islands  was  lower 
than  in  the  State  of  Massachusetts.  A  public 
library,  toward  which  Mr.  Carnegie  gave  $100,- 
000,  is  building  in  Honolulu.  By  legislative  en- 
actment it  will  have  an  income  of  $15,000  a  year, 
and  will  contain  at  the  outset  some  20,000  volumes, 
including  the  important  collection  belonging  to 
the  Hawaiian  Historical  Society. 

Nowhere  is  more  efficient  care    taken    of    the 
public  health.     This  is  essential,  since  Honolulu, 


HAWAII  AS  A  TERRITORY  65 

with  its  cosmopolitan  population,  its  tropical 
climate,  its  immigration  from  all  parts  of  the 
world,  its  situation  at  the  junction  of  Pacific  trade 
routes,  is  peculiarly  liable  to  infection.  And  the 
very  reasons  which  make  it  so  liable  are  the  same 
which  make  freedom  from  disease  imperative. 
The  water  supply  and  the  sewage  system  of  Hono- 
lulu are  excellent,  as  indeed  they  are  rapidly  be- 
coming in  all  centres  of  population.  The  Terri- 
torial Board  of  Health  has  almost  unlimited  pow- 
ers in  the  inspection  of  immigrants,  of  whom  they 
send  away  hundreds  annually,  in  passing  on  im- 
ported fruit,  in  the  cleaning  up  of  unsanitary 
districts,  in  the  control  of  tuberculosis,  and  in  the 
enforcement  of  pure-food  laws.  The  legislature, 
realising  the  dangers,  is  very  liberal  in  its  appro- 
priations to  cover  this  work.  The  counties  assist 
various  hospitals,  and  the  Territorial  Government 
itself  is  interested  financially  in  several  general 
hospitals,  in  four  tuberculosis  hospitals,  and  in  the 
dispensaries,  and  supports  entirely  the  insane 
asylum  and  the  leper  settlement  on  Molokai. 

It  is  said  that  fear  of  leprosy  deters  many  from 
visiting  the  Islands,  yet  probably  in  no  part  of 
the  globe  is  there  less  danger  of  infection,  because 
nowhere  is  the  disease  so  well  understood,  nowhere 
so  well  cared  for,  and  nowhere  are  the  patients — 
even  those  in  whom  there  is  even  a  suspicion  of 
leprosy — so  rigorously  isolated.     The  leper  set- 


66  HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

tlement  is  situated  on  a  triangle  of  land  on  the 
north  side  of  Molokai,  separated  from  the  rest 
of  the  island  by  practically  impassable  cliffs. 
Here,  during  1911,  were  treated  649  patients,  of 
whom  559  were  Hawaiians.  There  are  in  Honolulu 
a  receiving  station  and  homes  for  non-leprous 
boys  and  girls  of  leprous  parents.  Thoroughly 
scientific  investigation  of  the  disease  is  being  con- 
ducted, and  it  has  lately  been  found  possible  arti- 
ficially to  cultivate  the  bacillus,  an  advance  in 
knowledge  which  augurs  well  for  the  ultimate  dis- 
covery of  a  cure.  Leprosy  is  not  contagious,  can 
be  contracted  only  through  inoculation,  and  takes 
years  to  manifest  itself, — three  facts  which  prove 
the  nonsense  of  the  frequent  scare  headlines  in 
American  newspapers  about  the  disease.  Many 
devoted  men  and  women  have  given  their  lives 
to  service  in  the  leper  settlement,  and  none,  with 
the  exception  of  Father  Damien,  has  contracted 
the  disease.  Stevenson's  magnificent  philippic, 
cruelly  unfair  to  Dr.  Hyde  as  it  was,  has  made 
the  name  of  Father  Damien  known  and  reverenced 
the  world  over.  All  honour  must  be  given  to  him 
as  the  pioneer,  as  the  first  man  willing  to  isolate 
himself  for  the  benefit  of  the  unfortunate  patients, 
a  self-sacrifice  even  more  noble  since  he  evidently 
expected  to  die  a  leper,  as  he  did.  Because  he 
took  the  disease,  however,  is  often  the  reason  that 
he  is  praised,  whereas,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  he  con- 


HAWAII  AS  A  TERRITORY  67 

tracted  leprosy  only  through  gross  carelessness 
and  because  he  did  not  take  the  trouble  to  keep 
clean.  Because  he  was  the  pioneer  he  is  a  hero, 
but  hardly  less  heroes  are  those  who  have  followed 
him,  who  have  not  contracted  leprosy  because  they 
have  been  reasonably  careful  and  willing  to  bathe. 
Lepers  are  never  seen  in  the  Islands.  Practically 
no  Americans  have  become  lepers.  The  inhab- 
itants of  the  Islands  never  think  of  the  disease 
except  to  glory  in  the  splendid  work  which  is  being 
done  toward  finding  a  cure. 

Since  Hawaii  became  a  Territory  it  has  grown 
rapidly  in  population,  its  old  industries  have  in- 
creased and  new  industries  have  been  developed. 
The  trans-Pacific  cable  has  put  it  into  immediate 
communication  with  the  rest  of  the  world,  enabling 
its  business  interests  to  keep  constantly  in  touch 
with  the  great  marts  of  trade.  It  is  fortunate  in 
having  as  the  backbone  of  its  population  a  force 
of  intelligent  citizens  who  have  loyally  transferred 
their  allegiance  to  the  United  States,  but  who  love 
their  own  little  land  and  put  its  well-being  above 
all  personal  considerations.  \Its  affairs  have  been 
wisely  conducted  in  Washington,  so  that  it  is 
justified  in  looking  forward  toward  a  bright 
future,  in  which  it  will  have  its  own  honourable 
share  in  the  progress  of  its  mother  countrj^ 


CHAPTER  V 

COMMERCE    AND    INDUSTRY 

The  Hawaiian  Islands  are  industrially  a  busy 
and  progressive  place,  and,  unlike  other  tropical 
countries,  physical  activity  is  not  limited  to  the 
dark-skinned  races.  The  climate  is  such  that  Cau- 
casians can  not  only  work  in  the  open  but,  for  the 
sake  of  health,  need  vigorous  out-door  exercise. 
The  result  is  that  agricultural  opportunities  are 
limited  only  by  the  extent  of  available  land.  The 
variety  of  crops  that  can  be  raised,  moreover,  is 
almost  endless,  ranging  from  the  fully  tropical 
near  the  seashore  to  crops  of  the  temperate  zone 
on  the  higher  levels. 

Only  one  industry  has  so  far  been  developed  to 
its  fult  capacity.  All  the  large  tracts  of  land 
suitable  to  the  raising  of  sugar-cane  are  already 
taken  up  by  the  plantations.  The  only  increase 
in  production  can  be  through  the  growing  of  cane 
on  small  parcels  of  land  by  individuals  who  will 
sell  what  they  raise  to  the  plantations  to  be  ground 
at  the  mills.  There  was  sugar-cane  on  the  Islands 
when  they  were  discovered.  The  first  exportation 
of  sugar  was  made  as  far  back  as  1837.  A  man 
who  visited  one  of  these  primitive  sugar  mills  has 

68 


COMMERCE  AND  INDUSTRY  69 

described  the  curious  granite  rollers  used  to 
extract  the  juice,  and  the  crude  iron  pans  used 
as  boilers,  adding,  as  something  hard  to  believe, 
that  one  mill  was  able  to  produce  as  many  as  300 
pounds  of  sugar  in  a  day.  The  great  impetus  to 
sugar  production  was  given  by  the  Reciprocity 
Treaty  of  1878,  which  insured  a  market,  and  since 
then  the  industry  has  steadily  grown,  until  in  1912 
the  fifty-six  plantations  produced  566,821  tons, 
valued  at  $45,345,680,  this  being  an  increase  in 
the  ten  years  since  annexation  of  200,000  tons. 
The  value  of  incorporated  and  private  sugar 
property  is  about  $70,000,000.  Over  200,000 
acres  of  land,  about  half  of  which  has  been  re- 
claimed, are  devoted  to  the  growing  of  cane. 
Artificial  irrigation  of  this  formerly  arid  land  is 
carried  on  by  means  of  extensive  series  of  arte- 
sian wells,  from  which  water  is  pumped  to  the 
higher  fields,  and  by  great  mountain  reservoirs, 
from  which  ditches  distribute  water  over  thousands 
of  acres.  An  immense  amount  of  fertiliser  is  used 
annually,  and  the  plantations  devote  large  sums 
to  scientific  study  of  soils  and  to  improvement  by 
hybridisation  of  the  different  varieties  of  cane. 
Indeed,  the  scientific  precision  with  which  the  in- 
dustry is  conducted,  the  perfection  of  the  machin- 
ery, the  success  in  adapting  different  kinds  of  cane 
to  different  soils,  and  in  raising  those  soils  eco- 
nomically   to    their    highest    producing    power, 


70  HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

should  be   a  lesson   to   agriculturists   the   world 
over. 

On  the  large  plantations  the  soil  is  ploughed  to 
a  depth  of  about  three  feet  and  the  cane  is  planted 
in  rows  about  eight  feet  apart;  on  irrigated  land 
the  distance  is  less.  The  first  crop  is  ready 
for  the  mill  in  about  eighteen  months,  is 
followed  by  a  rattoon  crop  in  fourteen  months, 
and  by  another  rattoon  crop  about  eighteen 
months  later.  The  third  rattoon  crop  is 
not  profitable,  so  the  land  is  usually  allowed  to 
rest  until  a  new  planting  is  made.  As  no  proper 
harvesting  machinery  has  been  invented  to  cut  the 
cane,  which  grows  in  tangled  masses,  it  is  cut  by 
hand  and  sent  to  the  mill  on  cars,  or,  where  water 
is  plenty  and  the  slope  of  the  land  sufficient,  in 
flumes.  It  has  been  found  best  to  burn  the  fields 
before  harvesting,  as  the  value  of  the  small  amount 
of  juice  lost  is  incommensurate  with  the  great 
expense  of  stripping  the  cane.  At  the  mill  the 
cane  is  passed  through  three  sets  of  rollers,  which 
so  thoroughly  extract  the  juice  that  the  refuse  or 
bagasse  is  immediately  fed  into  the  boiler  furnaces. 
The  juice  goes  first  into  the  boilers,  from  them 
into  the  settling  tanks  and  into  the  evaporator, 
which  may  have  a  capacity  of  1,500  tons  of  juice 
per  twenty-four  hours.  From  the  evaporator, 
which  has  reduced  it  seventy-five  per  cent  in  vol- 
ume, the  juice  is  sent  to  the  vacuum  pans  on  the 


^W^^-'^.irA 


Sugar  Cane  in  Flower — ^Will  be  Ripe  and  Ready  to 
Grind  in  from  Six  to  Eight  Weeks 


c     y     c     '■    »      ,  ' 


i 


COMMERCE  AND  INDUSTRY  71 

upper  floor  of  the  mill.  Under  these  are  the 
crystallisers,  and  lastly  the  sugar  is  sent  for  dry- 
ing to  the  centrifugals.  As  it  drops  out  of  these 
it  is  shovelled  into  bags  and  is  ready  for  ship- 
ment. 

The  whole  process,  which  is  intensely  interesting, 
can  most  easily  be  seen  in  one  of  the  great  mills 
near  Honolulu,  that  of  Ewa,  Oahu,  or  the  Hono- 
lulu Plantation,  the  latter  being  the  only  planta- 
tion which  refines  its  own  sugar.  These  three 
plantations,  which  are  among  the  most  pro- 
gressive in  the  Islands,  produced,  respectively, 
in  the  last  year  for  which  there  are  figures, 
31,000,  33,000,  and  17,000  tons.  The  average 
yield  per  acre  on  Ewa  plantation  has  run 
as  high  as  eight  tons  and  a  single  acre  has  pro- 
duced eleven  tons.  This  is  the  more  remarkable 
when  one  realises  that  the  average  yield  through- 
out the  Islands  is  a  little  over  four  tons,  being 
6.44  tons  on  irrigated  land  and  3.69  on  unirri- 
gated  land,  and  that  the  average  yield  of  the 
plantations  in  Cuba  is  only  a  little  over  two  tons. 
The  largest  plantation  in  the  Islands,  and  indeed 
in  the  world,  is  the  Hawaiian  Commercial  on  Maui, 
which  produces  between  50,000  and  60,000  tons  a 
year.  The  plantations  along  the  coast  of  Hawaii 
and  on  Kauai  are,  with  one  or  two  exceptions,  com- 
paratively small,  although  they  are  often  as  pros- 
perous and  as  progressive  as  any. 


72  HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

The  great  problem  of  the  sugar  planters  is 
labour,  which  must  be  cheap  and  to  produce  the 
best  results  ought  to  be  stationary.  The  planta- 
tions have  suffered  immeasurably  through  the  ex- 
clusion of  the  Chinese,  an  exclusion  which  here 
loses  its  point,  since  they  do  not,  as  labourers, 
compete  with  the  whites.  The  Japanese  are 
excitable  and  restless.  The  Hawaiians  and  the 
Portuguese  are  far  too  few  to  supply  the  de- 
mand. Field  labourers  get  from  $18  to  $25  a 
month  in  addition  to  comfortable  houses.  The 
planters  are  testing  also  various  co-operative 
schemes,  as  well  as  a  sliding  scale  of  wages,  the 
amount  increasing  according  to  the  length  of  time 
during  which  the  labourer  has  worked  for  the 
plantation.  Profits  are  large,  few  of  the  planta- 
tions being  over-capitalised,  but  they  are  by  no 
means  extravagant,  as  they  occasionally  were  in 
the  early  days  of  the  industry,  and  a  serious  in- 
crease in  the  cost  of  production  could  be  borne  by 
very  few  plantations.  The  abolition  of  the  duty 
on  raw  sugar  would  permit  most  of  them  to  con- 
tinue  with  greatly  reduced  profits,  whereas  it 
would  probably  kill  the  sugar  industry  of  the 
Southern  States,  benefiting  only  the  Sugar  Trust, 
the  sole  business  of  which  is  refining. 

Among  other  Island  industries  the  cultivation 
of  rice,  carried  on  almost  exclusively  by  Orientals 
and  according  to  Chinese  methods,  is  almost  as 


COMMERCE  AND  INDUSTRY  73 

old  as  sugar  and  long  held  second  place.  Some 
12,000  acres  are  devoted  to  this  industry,  and 
even  under  the  primitive  methods  employed  the 
profits  are  large.  Japanese  rice  is  still  imported, 
but  probably  would  not  be  were  modern  machinery 
used  in  the  cleaning  and  polishing  of  the  home- 
grown crop.  As  it  is,  water-buffaloes,  strong, 
patient,  deformed-looking  creatures,  do  most  of 
the  work,  not  only  in  the  fields  but  in  threshing 
the  grain.  Picturesque  they  certainly  are,  but  it 
is  equally  certain  that  they  are  neither  as  thor- 
ough nor  as  clean  as  is  modern  machinery. 

The  commercial  cultivation  of  pineapples  is  an 
industry  of  comparatively  recent  introduction,  al- 
though pineapples  for  table  use  have  been  grown 
for  many  years.  For  its  best  development  the 
fruit  requires  an  elevation  of  from  500  to  1,200 
feet  and  a  rainfall  of  35  inches  or  over.  The 
plants  are  set  out  in  numbers  varying  from  2,500 
to  12,000  to  the  acre,  according  to  the  size  of  fruit 
desired.  The  first  crop,  of  about  10  tons  to  the 
acre,  matures  in  from  eighteen  months  to  two 
years,  and  a  rattoon  crop  of  from  15  to  18  tons 
is  harvested  a  year  later.  A  second  rattoon  crop 
is  not,  as  in  the  case  of  sugar  cane,  profitable, 
so  the  fields  must  be  then  reset.  About  6,000 
acres  of  land  are  now  devoted  to  the  cultivation 
of  pineapples,  and  in  1912  approximately  1,000,- 
000  cases  of  two  dozen  two-pound  cans  were  ex- 


74  HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

ported,  worth  about  $3.50  per  case — this  in  addi- 
tion to  fresh  fruit  and  to  bottles  of  pineapple 
juice.  There  are  several  canneries  in  the  Islands, 
that  in  Honolulu  being  the  largest  in  the  world, 
so  the  fruit  is  sent  away  ready  for  the  market, 
which  is  still  by  no  means  satisfied.*  Hawaiian 
pineapples,  both  raw  and  canned,  are  said  to  have 
the  finest  flavour  of  any  grown.  With  the  canneries 
at  hand  the  fruit  has  now  a  definite  market  value, 
and  the  time  has  gone  by  when  a  passenger  on 
an  inter-island  steamer  could  buy  from  the  canoes 
surrounding  the  ship  at  some  port  of  call  a  hun- 
dred delicious  little  pineapples  for  the  extravagant 
sum  of  one  dollar. 

These  three  are  the  principal  agricultural  in- 
dustries of  the  Islands,  with  sugar,  of  course,  far 
in  the  lead — too  extravagantly  in  the  lead,  per- 
haps, for  a  really  safe  financial  situation.  In  calm 
weather  a  ship  does  well  enough  with  one  anchor, 
but  in  a  storm  it  is  more  prudent  to  have  several 
to  windward.  At  present  sugar  is  the  Hawaiian 
anchor,  and  in  comparison  to  it  all  the  other  in- 
dustries are  but  larger  or  smaller  fish-hooks 
attached  to  slender  cords.  It  is  very  satisfactory, 
therefore,  to  note  the  growing  interest  in  other 
agricultural  ventures.    For  example,  there  are  now 

*  A  drummer  told  me  that  he  had  distributed  a  dozen  cans 
of  Hawaiian  pineapple  in  Minnesota  in  1909;  that  in  1910  he 
had  orders  for  two  dozen  cases;  and  in  1911  for  thirty  carloads. 


COMMERCE  AND  INDUSTRY  75 

about  3,000  acres  in  sisal,  with  an  annual  output 
of  several  hundred  tons  of  fibre.  That  this  will 
in  time  become  an  important  industry  is  almost 
certain,  since  there  are  in  the  Islands  large  tracts 
of  arid  land  where  sisal,  which  requires  only  two 
inches  of  rain  a  year,  will  grow,  and  where  little 
else  can  ever  be  cultivated.  The  Hawaiian  fibre  is 
of  the  highest  quality  and  is  much  preferred  in  the 
San  Francisco  market  to  that  coming  from  Mexico, 
where  ninety-eight  per  cent  of  the  sisal  used  in  the 
United  States  is  at  present  grown.  Another  prom- 
ising experiment  is  the  cultivation  of  rubber,  but, 
whereas  the  first  returns  from  sisal  come  in  three 
years,  rubber  trees  do  not  begin  to  pay  until  the 
eighth  year.  This,  of  course,  necessitates  a  large 
initial  outlay  and  means  that  the  money  will  for 
a  long  time  be  unproductive.  There  are,  however, 
some  1,500  acres  planted  in  rubber,  and  prospec- 
tive rubber  growers  have  been  encouraged  by  the 
discovery  that  it  is  possible,  while  the  trees  are 
young,  to  get  small  immediate  returns  by  inter- 
cropping, that  is,  by  planting  some  quickly  matur- 
ing crop  such  as  soy  beans  between  the  rows  of 
trees.  Another  young  industry  is  the  cultivation 
of  tobacco,  of  which  the  finest  grades  can  be  grown 
successfully  and  economically.  There  are,  at  the 
lowest  estimate,  some  30,000  acres  of  soil  excellent 
for  tobacco  culture,  and  with  intelligent  manage- 
ment the  industry  should  be  one  of  real  importance. 


76  HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

Coffee  has  been  raised  since  1817,  but  at  present 
the  low  wholesale  price  has  cut  down  the  profits 
to  a  minimum  and  has  discouraged  the  starting  of 
new  plantations.  Hawaiian  coffee,  especially  that 
grown  in  Kona,  is,  however,  of  such  delicious 
flavour  that  if  a  co-operative  association  could  be 
formed  properly  to  introduce  it  into  the  United 
States  there  is  no  reason  why  it  should  not  again 
become  one  of  the  most  attractive  and  well-paying 
industries.*  Bananas  grow  wild  all  through  the 
Islands  and  are  also  extensively  cultivated  for 
export.  The  banana  fruits  about  a  year  and  a 
half  after  planting,  and  the  tree  is  then  cut  down 
to  give  room  for  the  suckers  which  spring  from 
the  roots.  From  800  to  900  bunches  per  acre 
is  the  usual  crop.  Some  fifty  varieties  are  grown 
at  various  altitudes.  Many  of  them  are,  so  far, 
unknown  commercially — especially  is  this  true  of 
the  cooking  varieties,  which  are  even  better  than 
those  eaten  raw.  If  a  market  were  created  for 
these  new  kinds  of  banana  they  could  be  raised 
very  profitably  and  in  quantities  limited  only  by 
the  amount  of  suitable  land.  Other  crops  which 
have  been  planted  to  some  extent  and  have  grown 
well  and  which,  therefore,  seem  to  offer  good  op- 
portunities to  intelligent  farmers  are  cotton,  pro- 

*  A  New  York  dealer  said  not  long  ago  that  if  the  Hawaiian 
coffee  agents,  instead  of  being  modest  about  it,  had  called  it  by 
some  fancy  name  and  insisted  that  it  was  of  i  xncy  grade,  they 
could  have  got  high  prices  and  sold  all  the  Islands  could  raise. 


COMMERCE  AND  INDUSTRY  77 

ducing  here  a  more  valuable  and  finer  lint  than 
any  grown  in  the  Southern  States ;  cassava, 
Manila  hemp,  citrus  fruits,  vanilla  beans,  which 
flourish  in  very  wet  regions ;  corn,  and  forage 
plants.  Full  development  of  all  these  agricultural 
possibilities  would  be  of  inestimable  benefit  to  the 
Islands  and  would  be  also  excellent  investments  to 
those  who  carried  them  through. 

The  ranching  business,  almost  entirely  in  the 
hands  of  Americans,  uses  as  grazing  lands  some 
160,000  acres.  So  far  these  ranches  have  sup- 
plied the  home  demand  for  beef,  but  the  demand 
is  increasing  rapidly  and  to  keep  up  with  it  the 
ranchers  will  have  to  raise  large  quantities  of 
forage  plants  to  supply  the  cattle  in  time  of 
drought,  since  the  natural  grazing  lands  will  not 
support  many  more.  This  is,  of  course,  recog- 
nised, and  the  ranchers  prefer  to  plant  extensively 
rather  than  to  lose  control  of  the  market.  Sheep 
are  raised,  but  not  yet  in  sufficient  quantities  to 
meet  the  demand  for  home  consumption  of  mutton. 
Nor  up  to  now  has  enough  attention  been  paid 
to  selection  of  breeds  which  will  produce  the  finest 
quality  of  wool.  Much  work  is  at  last  being  done 
along  this  line,  and  the  wool  exported  in  the  future 
ought  to  be  far  above  the  standard  of  that  ex- 
ported in  the  past.  No  hogs  were  imported  during 
1911,  enough,  for  the  first  time,  being  raised  to 
supply  the  home  demand.     Both  horses  and  mules 


78  HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

are  imported  annually  as  draught  animals,  al- 
though the  Island  ranches  should,  and  probably 
eventually  will,  furnish  all  that  are  needed.  Poul- 
try raising  is  carried  on  to  some  extent,  but  quan- 
tities of  chickens  and  eggs  are  brought  from  the 
mainland.  Poultry  diseases  are  troublesome  here 
as  elsewhere,  but  are  no  more  troublesome  nor 
harder  to  deal  with.  It  would  certainly  seem, 
therefore,  that  there  is  an  excellent  opportunity 
for  a  few  men  who  are  experts  in  the  business. 

The  vital  need  of  the  Islands  is  to  insure  settle- 
ment on  a  satisfactory  basis  of  the  labour  problem, 
and  the  only  proper  settlement  would  seem  to  be 
the  creation  of  a  class  of  independent  small  farm- 
ers. The  time  of  unrestricted  Oriental  immigra- 
tion is  over.  More  and  more  the  balance  must 
turn  in  favour  of  the  Caucasian  labourers,  who 
are  brought  in  large  numbers  annually,  at  great 
expense  to  the  Territory  and  the  planters,  from 
southern  Europe.  These  men  bring  their  families. 
They  cannot  be  expected,  and  ought  not  to  be 
expected,  to  hoe  cane  all  their  lives.  Their  ambi- 
tion to  become  independent  land-owners,  to  have 
their  own  little  farms  and  orchards,  which  they 
can  cultivate  and  leave  to  their  children,  ought  to 
be  realised  within  the  Territory.  So  far  as  land 
is  concerned,  there  is  no  difficulty,  but  these  men 
do  not  want  land  unless  it  can  be  proved  to  them 
that  small  farming  is  profitable.    For  this  reason 


COMMERCE  AND  INDUSTRY  79 

efforts  are  being  made  to  test  all  kinds  of  crops, 
to  establish  a  central  marketing  agency  for  the 
small  farmers,  and  when  these  experiments  are 
completed,  when  it  can  be  demonstrated  that  this 
kind  of  farming  is  feasible  and  profitable  as  well 
in  Hawaii  as  on  the  mainland,  then,  it  is  hoped, 
the  plantation  labourers  will  work  to  earn  enough 
money  to  buy  an  upland  farm,  not  tickets  to  San 
Francisco.  They  and  their  children  will  come 
down  to  the  cane  fields  to  work  in  harvesting  the 
crop,  just  as  the  similar  cla&s  of  small  farmer 
works  in  the  harvesting  season  in  California.  In 
this  way  only  will  the  problem  of  labourers  for  the 
plantations  be  permanently  simplified,  and  at  the 
same  time  the  Territory  will  have  gained  a  steady 
and  reliable  rural  population. 

Manufacturing,  aside  from  the  manufacturing 
processes  connected  with  the  production  of  sugar 
and  with  the  canning  of  fruit,  can  never  be  of  great 
importance.  This  is  inevitable  owing  to  the  dis- 
tance of  the  Islands  from  world  markets,  and  still 
more  to  the  absence  of  coal  and  of  minerals.  Only 
one  company,  the  Honolulu  Iron  Works,  has,  in 
the  face  of  these  obstacles,  worked  itself  into  a 
position  of  prime  importance.  This  company  has 
a  large  plant  and  manufactures  all  the  machinery 
for  the  sugar  mills  and  pumping  stations,  except, 
of  course,  those  parts  controlled  elsewhere  by 
patent.    Indeed,  so  well  known  is  it  for  its  accurate 


80  HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

and  excellent  work  that  it  ships  sugar  machinery 
to  the  Orient  and  even  to  Cuba.  This  success, 
however,  is  an  exception,  brought  about  by  de- 
mands arising  from  special  local  conditions,  and 
does  not  affect  the  truth  of  the  statement  that 
general  manufacturing  would  be  unprofitable. 

In  public  service  corporations  the  Islands  can 
take  their  place  with  any  advanced  community. 
Honolulu  has  an  unusually  well-equipped  and  well- 
conducted  electric  car  service,  with  twenty-four 
miles  of  track.  The  cars  serve  all  parts  of  the 
city,  are  of  the  most  modern  make,  and  are  thor- 
oughly comfortable.  A  franchise  for  an  electric 
line  for  the  town  of  Hilo  has  lately  been  granted. 
The  steam  railroads  in  the  Islands  are  capitalised 
at  about  $7,500,000  and  have  about  220  miles  in 
operation.  The  Oahu  Railway  and  Land  Com- 
pany has  a  hundred  miles  of  track,  including  the 
main  line  and  branches,  and  is  connected  on  the 
north  side  of  the  Island  with  twelve  miles  of  the 
Koolau  Railway.  The  Oahu  Railway  Company 
has  excellent  terminal  facilities  and  docks  and 
offers  good  passenger  and  freight  service.  On 
Maui,  the  Kahului  Railroad  Company  operates 
some  sixteen  miles  of  track,  which  connects,  how- 
ever, with  125  miles  of  plantation  track.  On 
Hawaii  the  Hilo  Railroad  Company  has  built  some 
50  miles  of  road  and  is  rapidly  extending  its  lines 
in  all  directions  from  Hilo.     The  line  northward 


COMMERCE  AND  INDUSTRY  81 

along  the  coast,  which  is  extremely  difficult  to 
build  on  account  of  the  deep  gulches,  will  eventu- 
ally carry  all  the  sugar  of  the  district  to  Hilo 
for  transportation,  thus  doing  away  with  the  many 
dangerous  plantation  landings  where  the  sugar  is 
now  lowered  over  the  cliffs  into  small  boats  or 
run  on  cables  to  the  steamers.  These  lines  are 
mainly  for  the  transportation  of  freight,  but  their 
passenger  service  is  also  good,  and  they  make 
easy  of  access  some  of  the  best  scenery  in  the 
Territory. 

Honolulu  was  one  of  the  first  cities  anywhere 
to  have  a  general  telephone  service.  The  company 
has  now  taken  over  also  the  management  of  inter- 
island  wireless  telegraphy.  All  important  centres 
are  equipped  with  electric  lights,  and  the  capital 
is  also  supplied  with  gas.  In  so  far,  therefore,  as 
modern  conveniences  are  concerned,  the  Islands 
are  quite  on  a  par  with  the  mainland. 

Water  transportation  facilities  are  continually 
increasing.  The  Inter-Island  Steam  Navigation 
Company  has  a  fleet  of  seventeen  steamers,  which 
call  at  all  ports  in  the  Territory.  During  the 
year  1911  they  carried  64,108  passengers  and 
409,714  tons  of  freight.  The  steamers  are  small, 
but  three  of  them,  the  Maunakea,  the  Maunaloa, 
and  the  Kilauea,  have  accommodations  for  a  hun- 
dred passengers  and  are  as  well  fitted  up  and  as 
comfortable  as  any  boats  of  corresponding  size. 


82  HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

This  company  controls  nearly  all  of  the  inter- 
island  traffic.  There  are  local  lines,  with  boats 
plying  between  the  mainland  and  the  Hawaiian 
Islands,  which  operate  their  steamers  mainly  for 
freight  transportation.  One  of  these  lines,  the 
Matson  Navigation  Company,  has  excellent  pas- 
senger accommodations  on  three  of  its  larger 
steamers,  and  the  Oceanic  Steamship  Company 
has  one  passenger  steamer  on  a  regular  tri-weekly 
schedule  between  Honolulu  and  San  Francisco. 
Honolulu  is  also  a  port  of  call  for  various  through 
lines  of  steamers,  which,  however,  owing  to  United 
States  navigation  laws  governing  the  coastwise 
service,  can  carry  neither  passengers  nor  freight 
to  or  from  the  Islands  except  on  payment  of  a 
heavy  fine.  These  laws  do  not  apply,  fortunately, 
to  the  steamers  of  the  Pacific  Mail  Steamship 
Company,  which  is  an  American  line  running 
between  San  Francisco  and  the  Orient,  nor 
do  they  apply  to  the  steamers  of  the  Canadian- 
Australian  Steamship  Company,  which,  taking 
passengers  and  freight  to  Vancouver,  is  not 
acting  as  a  carrier  between  two  American  ports. 
So  far  as  freight  is  concerned,  these  laws 
are  no  particular  hardship,  but  they  are 
a  serious  inconvenience  to  the  passenger  traffic, 
which  is  larger  than  can  be  handled  with  comfort 
by  American  ships.  A  suspension  of  the  law  relat- 
ing to  the  carrying  of  passengers  would  not  be  a 


k 


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as 


'■.:'", 


COMMERCE  AND  INDUSTRY  83 

hardship  to  American  companies  and  would  be, 
for  the  Territory,  relief  from  a  special  burden.  It 
would  seem  only  fair,  moreover,  since  the  possi- 
bility of  outlying  Territories  was  not  considered 
when  the  laws  were  enacted.  With  the  opening  of 
the  Panama  Canal  the  shipping  of  the  Islands 
must  enormously  increase.  Honolulu  will  inevita- 
bly become  a  great  commercial  centre,  since,  being 
the  only  available  port  of  call  in  the  North  Pacific, 
it  will  do  an  immense  business  in  trans-shipment 
of  freight.  As  a  shipping  centre,  indeed,  it  has 
grown  in  importance  for  several  years.  The  ton- 
nage entered  in  1901  was  952,504;  in  1911  it  was 
1,343,876,  excluding  the  United  States  transport 
service,  which  is  very  large.  There  is  every  reason 
to  believe  that  with  the  opening  of  the  Canal  the 
amount  will  be  immediately  doubled  or  trebled. 
Steamers  from  Panama  will  call  at  Honolulu  for 
coal  and  other  supplies,  and  to  meet  this  demand 
the  traffic  with  California  will  be  much  larger. 

As  a  mercantile  centre, -^llKlff^^,  the  future  of 
Honolulu  seems  as  sure  as  does  the  agricultural 
future  of  the  group.  It  means  a  busy  port,  a 
meeting  ground  for  the  ships  and  people  of  all 
nations,  less  of  the  calm  always  associated  with  the 
tropics,  more  dirt  and  confusion,  but  with  these 
disadvantages  it  means  more  colour,  more  of  the 
cosmopolitan  life  that  is  so  attractive  to  the^ 
onlooker. 


CHAPTER  VI 


HONOLULU 


The  American  tourist  to  the  Hawaiian  Islands 
will  probably  take  ship  at  San  Francisco,  although 
the  steamers  from  Vancouver  are  also  good.  He 
must  remember  that  from  a  United  States  port 
it  is  possible  to  sail  to  Honolulu  only  on  a  ship 
under  American  register,  unless  he  has  a  through 
ticket  to  the  Orient  and  plans  merely  to  stop  over. 
The  first  day  or  two  out  of  San  Francisco  are 
usually  cold,  so  that  heavy  wraps  are  essential, 
but  as  the  rest  of  the  trip  is  warm,  rooms  on  the 
starboard  side,  getting  the  trade  winds,  are 
preferable. 

After  the  hills  of  the  Coast  Range  have  dropped 
below  the  horizon  there  is  almost  nothing  to  see — 
a  whale  perhaps,  or  porpoises,  but  no  land  and 
very  rarely  a  passing  ship.  But  to  the  man  who 
has  never  been  in  the  tropics  the  ocean,  so  utterly 
different  from  the  North  Atlantic,  is  a  revelation. 
There  usually  are  no  waves,  as  the  Atlantic  trav- 
eller knows  waves,  but  the  whole  surface  of  the 
sea  sways  gently  in  great,  silent,  lazy  swells.  Day 
by  day  the  blue  grows  more  intense  until  it  becomes 
that    brilliant,    translucent,    but    seemingly    not 

64 


HONOLULU  85 

transparent,  ultramarine  that  is  seen  only  in  trop- 
ical waters  and  that  once  seen  is  never  forgotten. 
On  the  sixth  day  there  comes  the  restless  feeling 
that  one  always  has  on  approaching  land.  The 
ocean,  near  the  Islands,  loses  its  glassy  surface, 
which,  after  a  long  time,  is  uneasily  suggestive  of 
the  "painted  ocean"  in  the  "Ancient  Mariner," 
ripples  again  as  the  ocean  should,  and  breaks  into 
spurts  of  foam.  The  cloud-bank  ahead  finally 
reveals  the  land  beneath,  and  one  sees  the  rocky 
eastern  end  of  the  Island  of  Oahu.  To  the  left  ap- 
pears the  long  coast  line  of  Molokai,  but  at  no  time 
near  enough  to  be  interesting,  except  as  being 
more  land.  It  is  on  the  Island  of  Oahu,  straight 
ahead,  that  attention  is  riveted,  on  the  barren 
promontories,  at  the  foot  of  which  the  surf  marks 
its  feathery,  ever  changing  line.  On  the  point 
reaching  out  furthest  toward  the  east  stands  the 
magnificent  Makapuu  Point  Light,  installed  in 
1909,  one  of  the  most  powerful  lights  in  the  world, 
and  in  a  position  where  it  is  vitally  necessary  to 
mariners.  All  black  this  land  looks,  like  rude  piles 
of  huge  volcanic,  storm-beaten  rocks.  The  north 
side  of  the  Island  is  shrouded  with  clouds,  but,  if 
the  day  is  propitious,  as  it  usually  is,  the  clouds 
break  again  and  again,  revealing  distant  but  en- 
chanting glimpses  of  colour — the  soft  green  of 
cane  fields,  the  vivid  yellow  of  salt  grasses  along 
the  shore,  and  the  purple  blue  of  the  precipitous 


86  HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

mountains  across  which  the  trade  wind  is  blowing 
masses  of  sparkling  white  and  silver  grey  clouds. 
But  these  are  only  glimpses,  lost  as  the  steamer 
approaches  the  Island  and,  rounding  the  Point, 
proceeds  westward  along  the  southern  shore. 

Oahu  geologically  is  made  up  of  two  ranges  of 
mountains.  Those  in  the  southwestern  part,  the 
Waianae  Mountains,  form  a  group  dominated  by 
Kaala  (4,040  feet),  flat-topped,  as  though  the 
original  volcanic  cone  had  been  blown  away,  as 
it  in  fact  may  have  been,  since  there  are  still 
vestiges  of  an  ancient  crater.  The  Koolau  Range, 
forming  the  backbone  of  the  Island,  extends  in  an 
unbroken  chain  from  northwest  to  southeast.  On 
arriving  from  the  north  it  is  the  geologically 
younger  end  of  this  range  that  one  sees  first,  bar- 
ren because  not  yet  has  sufficient  time  elapsed  to 
allow  erosion  to  do  its  full  work  of  disintegrating 
the  ancient  lava  and  forming  fertile  soil.  As  the 
steamer  rounds  Koko  Head,  long  and  rounded,  like 
a  gigantic  mound  of  desert  sand,  so  named  because 
of  its  blood-red  colour  in  certain  lights — koko 
means  blood  in  the  Hawaiian  language — there  come 
into  view  the  shores  of  the  great  shallow  bay  of 
Waialae.  Here,  at  last,  is  vegetation.  The  beach 
is  fringed  with  cocoanut  trees,  and  a  little  way 
back  the  land  rises  abruptly,  breaking  into  deep, 
narrow,  fertile  valleys  and  rocky  ridges  that  on 
their  higher  slopes  lose  themselves  in  the  verdure 


HONOLULU  87 

of  the  mountain  tops.  After  a  half-hour  skirting 
the  coral  reef  that  protects  the  bay  from  the  great 
swells  of  the  Pacific,  the  boat  passes  another  prom- 
ontory, Leahi,  or  Diamond  Head,  and  the  city  of 
Honolulu  comes  into  sight. 

The  tourist  knows  at  last  that  he  is  surely  in 
the  tropics,  knows,  too,  if  he  has  travelled  far, 
that  nowhere  is  there  a  more  beautiful,  peaceful 
scene.  The  ocean  outside  the  reef  is  blue — the 
same  blue  that  it  has  been  for  days,  but  darker, 
so  deeply  dyed  that  it  looks  almost  opaque,  until 
one  gazes  straight  down  and  catches  the  twisted 
sun  rays  that  are  gleaming  far  below  the  surface. 
The  reef  makes  a  sharp  line  of  white  surf,  and 
beyond  it  the  wide  shoals  are  pink  and  green  and 
bufF,  according  to  the  nature  of  the  sea-bottom  and 
the  angle  of  the  light — a  brilliant  Oriental  carpet 
along  the  shore.  The  mile  or  two  of  gently  rising 
land  between  the  beach  and  the  spurs  of  the  moun- 
tains is  a  mass  of  trees,  the  green  line  of  them 
broken  only  by  the  roofs  of  the  houses.  This 
vegetation,  a  little  monotonous  in  colour,  as  an 
artist  would  have  made  it  to  lead  from  the  brilliance 
of  the  sea  to  the  still  more  brilliant  mountains, 
extends  from  the  suburb  of  Waikiki,  clinging  about 
the  foot  of  Diamond  Head,  past  the  city  itself, 
westward,  until  the  misty  green  of  cane  fields 
carries  it  insensibly  into  the  still  more  misty,  pale- 
bluish  purple  of  the  distant  Waianae  Mountains. 


88  HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

Back  of  the  city,  to  right  and  left,  stretches  the 
Koolau  range  of  mountains,  not  very  high  (3,105 
feet  is  the  highest),  but  seeming  higher  than  is 
the  case  because  toward  the  top  they  rise  sharply ; 
because  there  is  the  space  of  a  few  miles  only  from 
sea  level  to  their  crests ;  because  the  quality  of  the 
atmosphere  and  the  clouds  that  hover  almost 
always  over  and  above  their  summits  give  them 
that  crystal  blue  which  the  mind  naturally  asso- 
ciates with  far  vistas  of  lofty  peaks.  It  is  on  the 
slopes  of  these  mountains  that  one  finds  the 
hot  exaggeration  of  tropical  colour — the  yellow 
splotches  that  are  kukui  trees,  the  grey  of  fern 
masses,  the  emerald  of  ohia  and  banana  trees,  made 
more  brilliant  through  contrast  with  dashes  of 
brick  red  earth. 

The  picture  is  never  for  two  days  the  same. 
Sometimes  there  is  an  opalescent  mist  that  is  not 
really  mist,  but  rather  a  denser  atmosphere  which 
fuses  the  colours.  Occasionally  the  clouds  hang 
sullenly  over  the  mountains  and  the  water  along 
the  shore  is  black,  with  streaks  of  pale  green. 
Another  day  the  trade  wind  is  blowing — and  this 
is  true  three-quarters  of  the  time — the  air  sparkles, 
the  mountains  shine  against  a  sky  clean  swept 
except  where  the  great,  lazy,  cream-white  and 
pearl-grey  clouds,  gathering  somewhere  beyond 
the  hills,  pile  through  the  gaps  and  then  make 
veils  of  sudden  showers  high  in  the  valleys,  or, 


HONOLULU  89 

sailing  onward  toward  the  south,  disintegrate  and 
disappear.  The  traveller  knows  the  approach  to 
San  Francisco,  to  Southampton,  to  Madeira.  The 
first  view  of  Honolulu,  as  the  steamer  rounds  Dia- 
mond Head,  is  in  its  own  way  quite  equal  to  these ; 
remains  always  in  memory  as  a  vision,  lovely  and 
radiant  and  supremely  satisfying. 

The  harbour  of  Honolulu  is  not  large.  The 
entrance  is  35  feet  deep  and  400  feet  wide;  the 
inner  harbour  is  35  feet  deep  and  900  feet  wide, 
but  this  width  is  being  extended  to  1,200  feet.  The 
water  is  always  still.  Indeed,  the  name  Honolulu 
means  "the  sheltered"  and  is  appropriate,  since 
there  are  few  severe  storms  and  no  weather  affects 
the  safety  of  the  harbour,  which,  in  consequence, 
is  usually  crowded  with  shipping.  As  the  steamer 
enters  the  channel  people  watch  the  Japanese  and 
Hawaiian  fishing  boats,  usually  dories  painted 
some  bright  colour,  that  contrast  with  the  grey 
tenders  of  the  men-of-war.  Near  the  dock  the 
water  is  alive  with  Hawaiian  boys  swimming  about 
and  shouting,  ready  to  dive  for  nickels  and  dimes, 
not  one  of  which  do  they  miss.  They  are  marvel- 
lously dexterous  swimmers  and  give  incoming 
passengers  amusement  that  is  pleasanter  and  more 
unusual  than  looking  at  the  undoubtedly  practical 
but  also  undoubtedly  ugly  warehouses  and  United 
States  Government  storehouses  which  line  the 
shore.    Not  much  more  attractive  in  looks  is  the 


90  HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

nearby  quarantine  station.  This,  however,  is  an 
excellent  modern  station  under  Federal  control 
and  is  capable  of  caring  for  SO  sick  people,  100 
first  cabin  and  300  second  cabin  passengers,  600 
immigrants,  and  1,600  troops.  Nor  is  the  dock 
more  suggestive  of  an  exotic  tropical  city.  White 
linen  suits  on  the  men,  sometimes  the  sickly  smell 
of  sugar,  always  Hawaiian  women  with  wreaths — 
"  leis  "  they  are  called — of  flowers  to  sell,  at  least 
make  one  realise,  however,  that  one  is  not  landing 
in  a  northern  port.  The  piles  of  coal,  the  dust, 
the  hurry  are  alike  in  all  ports  where  commerce  is 
of  more  importance  than  is  the  sensation-hunting 
tourist. 

Nor  is  the  first  glimpse  of  the  city  more  reas- 
suring. Indeed  it  may  as  well  be  admitted  that 
Honolulu  is,  architecturally,  very  bad ;  that  in  the 
business  portion,  where  vines  and  trees  do  not  hide, 
the  ugliness  is  sometimes  depressing.  There  are 
fine  modern  business  blocks,  as  completely  fireproof 
and  as  completely  uninspired  as  any  in  Chicago. 
Next  to  them  may  be  low,  shoddy  wood  or  brick 
buildings.  Some  of  the  newer  buildings,  and 
especially,  let  it  thankfully  be  said,  public  build- 
ings, such  as  the  fire  station,  built  of  blue-grey 
Hawaiian  stone,  would  be  pleasant  to  look  at  any- 
where, but  in  general  the  business  part  of  the  city 
is  in  that  sad  intermediate  state  which  is  neither 
trimly  new  nor  picturesquely  old.    It  pleases  only 


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HONOLULU  91 

those  who  live  there,  and  then  not  aesthetically,  but 
as  its  growth  indicates  material  progress.  This 
accusation  of  commonplaceness  is  true  only,  how- 
ever, when  one  takes  the  city  as  a  whole.  Single 
glimpses  are  often  wonderfully  attractive — the  fish 
market  with  its  piles  of  gaudy  fish,  every  colour  of 
the  rainbow,  the  different  booths  presided  over  by 
Hawaiians  or  Orientals ;  the  sidewalk  on  Hotel 
Street,  lined  with  Hawaiian  flower-sellers  with 
their  basketfuls  of  cut  flowers  and  their  leis  of 
every  colour,  laid  in  rows  on  the  sidewalk ;  or  some 
queer  comer  giving  a  vista  up  the  Nuuanu  stream ; 
or  some  little  wooden  house  lost  under  a  great  mass 
of  bougainvillea.  These,  fortunately,  are  the 
things  which  one  never  forgets.  In  a  month  the 
commonplaceness  is  gone,  but  the  beauty  and  the 
strangeness  remain. 

Honolulu,  a  city  of  about  50,000  inhabitants, 
stretches  for  several  miles  on  the  narrow  plain 
between  sea  and  mountains,  reaches  up  into  the 
valleys,  and  sometimes  actually  climbs  the  steep 
hillsides.  The  most  thickly  settled  portion  is  on 
the  slopes  of  Punch  Bowl — so  named  from  the 
shape  of  its  crater — a  comparatively  recent  cone, 
500  feet  high,  thrown  up  by  some  expiring  volcanic 
action  between  the  spurs  of  the  mountains  and  the 
ocean.  At  its  base,  a  little  to  the  westward,  lies 
the  business  portion  of  the  city;  huddled  on  its 
higher  slopes  is  the  Portuguese  settlement ;  to  the 


Q^  HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

east,  as  far  as  the  suburb  oif  Waikiki,  and  to  the 
west,  in  the  mouth  of  Nuuanu  Valley  and  beyond 
in  parts  of  the  Palama  region,  are  the  houses  of 
the  better  class  of  citizens.  One  who  intends  to 
stay  more  than  a  day  or  two  in  Honolulu  should 
drive  as  soon  as  possible  to  the  top  of  this  hill, 
because  from  here  one  can  get  the  best  idea  of  the 
topography  of  city  and  surrounding  country. 

The  streets,  in  so  far  as  the  uneven  character 
of  the  land  permits,  are  laid  out  at  right  angles. 
Fort  Street  and  Nuuanu  Avenue  running  from 
the  sea  toward  the  mountains,  and  King,  Hotel, 
and  Beretania*  Streets,  more  or  less  parallel  to 
the  coast,  give,  as  being  the  principal  thorough- 
fares, sufficient  indication  of  the  street  plan.  All, 
after  leaving  the  business  centre,  pass  between 
luxuriant  gardens,  which  are  never  shut  in  by 
walls,  but  are  enclosed  only  by  low  hedges,  usually 
of  red  flowering  hibiscus.  In  many  parts  of  the 
city  the  streets  are  bordered  with  tropical  flower- 
ing trees  that  are  a  glory  in  the  late  spring  months. 
An  admirable  electric  car  service  covers  the  entire 
district  of  Honolulu,  traversing  or  crossing  all 
the  main  streets. 

This  car  service,  which  makes  distance  unimpor- 
tant, makes  also  less  important  the  situation  of 
the  hotel  chosen  by  the  tourist.  In  the  city 
proper  the  Young  Hotel,  a  modem  stone  building, 
•The  Hawaiian  word  for  Britannia. 


HONOLULU  95 

and  the  Royal  Hawaiian,  standing  in  its  own  little 
tropical  garden,  are  the  best.  There  are  good 
hotels  also  at  Waikiki,  and  these,  with  the  Pleas- 
anton,  near  the  mouth  of  Manoa  Valley,  are  to 
be  recommended  for  a  prolonged  stay.  The  Pleas- 
anton,  a  residence  that  has  been  converted  into 
a  hotel,  is  surrounded  by  large  and  really  beautiful 
grounds.* 

Of  public  buildings  the  first  in  importance  is 
the  Executive  Building,  formerly  the  Royal  Pal- 
ace. This  stands  near  the  centre  of  the  city,  on 
King  Street,  in  its  own  open  park.  It  is  used  now 
as  the  offices  of  the  Governor  and  of  Territorial 
officials  and  contains  also  the  chambers  of  the 
Senate  and  House  of  Representatives.  Built  in 
1880  of  blocks  of  concrete,  much  over-ornamented, 
to  suit  the  King's  ideas  of  beauty,  it  follows  no 
recognised  style  of  architecture,  would  be  in  any 
northern  city  amazingly  ugly,  but  standing  alone 
as  it  does,  with  no  other  buildings  as  contrast,  ap- 
proached on  all  four  sides  by  short  avenues  of 
superb  royal  palms,  surrounded  by  splendid  great 
trees  and  gay  shrubs,  cream-coloured,  its  wide, 
cool  galleries  giving  an  effect  of  lightness,  it  has 
an  appropriateness  that  makes  it  almost  beauti- 
ful. It  is  best  on  public  holidays,  when  flags  and 
bunting,  flowers  and  brightly  dressed  women  give 
the  effect  of  gaiety  that  it  so  often  had  years  ago 
♦For  list  of  hotels  and  prices  see  Appendix,  pp.  231,  232. 


94  HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

when  the  King  held  public  receptions  or  enter- 
tained his  friends  at  native  feasts.  One  could 
never  take  the  little  Court  quite  seriously  and 
the  impermanent  "  World's  Fair  "  quality  of  the 
building  that  so  suited  the  playing  at  royalty  and 
that  still  suits  the  sunshine  of  the  tropics,  makes 
it  less  suitable  as  the  theatre  of  legislative  squab- 
bles and  as  the  source  of  heavily  serious  guberna- 
torial messages.  It  was  as  the  palace  of  a  king, 
unimportant  in  the  world's  sight  but  immensely 
important  in  his  own,  that  the  building's  outward 
purport  was  best  fulfilled.  The  interior  has  dig- 
nity. The  entrance  hall,  with  its  portraits  of 
kings  and  queens  and  princes,  is  simple  and  stately^ 
as  is  the  excellently  proportioned  Chamber  of 
Representatives,  formerly  the  throne-room,  at  the 
right  of  the  hall.  The  dining-room,  reception- 
rooms,  and  bedrooms  have  been  changed  beyond 
recognition  in  being  remodelled  to  suit  office  needs. 
Around  this  building  centres  much  of  the  later 
history  of  the  Islands.  It  was  the  scene  of  the 
insurrection  of  1889.  On  its  steps  the  body  of 
King  Kalakaua,  brought  home  from  San  Fran- 
cisco, was  met  by  the  Queen  Dowager  and  the  new 
Queen,  Liliuokalani.  Here,  in  January,  1893,  the 
Queen,  after  dissolving  the  legislature,  let  it  be 
known  that  she  was  about  to  promulgate  a  new 
constitution — the  fact  which  was  the  immediate 
cause  of  the  revolution  that  resulted  in  the  estab- 


HONOLULU  95 

lishment  of  the  Republic.  Here,  in  her  old  throne- 
room,  in  1895,  the  Queen  was  tried  for  treason. 
Here  to-day  the  Territorial  laws  are  enacted. 

Opposite  the  Executive  Building  stands  the 
Court  House,  formerly  the  Government  Building, 
where  the  legislature  of  the  Kingdom  held  its  ses- 
sions. The  Court  House  is  a  long,  two-story  build- 
ing, its  two  wings  connected  by  verandas  lined 
with  Ionic  columns.  In  front,  among  the  palm 
trees,  stands  the  statue  of  Kamehameha  I,  a  spear 
in  his  hand,  the  cloak  of  royal  yellow  feathers  over 
his  shoulder,  and  a  helmet  of  feathers  on  his  head. 
The  original  bronze,  of  which  this  is  a  replica,  was 
lost  at  sea,  but  years  later  was  recovered  and  sold 
to  the  Hawaiian  Government.  It  now  appropri- 
ately stands  in  Kohala,  on  the  Island  of  Hawaii, 
the  last  home  of  the  great  King.  These  two,  the 
Executive  Building  and  the  Court  House,  make 
the  official  centre  of  the  city,  and,  with  their  sur- 
roundings, it  would  be  fair  to  say  the  picturesque 
centre  as  well. 

A  few  steps  to  the  east  stands  Kawaiahao 
Church,  with  the  mausoleum  of  King  Lunalilo  be- 
side it.  This  church  is  the  impressive  monument 
of  the  early  missionary  labour.  It  was  dedicated 
in  1842  and  was  the  royal  chapel  until  the  coming 
of  the  English  Mission  twenty  years  later.  Built 
of  blocks  of  coral,  it  is  in  shape  a  rectangle.  Over 
the  main  entrance  is  a  low,  square  tower,  which 


96  HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

used  to  have  an  inappropriate  wooden  spire. 
White,  surrounded  with  huge  algaroba  trees, 
through  the  filmy  leaves  of  which  perpetual  sun- 
light plays,  it  typifies  in  its  Puritanic  dignity 
and  rigorous  simplicity  the  lasting  work  of  its 
founders.  Behind  it,  in  a  cemetery  as  unpreten- 
tious as  they  were  themselves,  most  of  these  found- 
ers are  buried.  Beyond,  in  the  section  of  the  town 
formerly  known  as  the  Mission,  what  remain  of 
their  houses  are  clustered.  One  of  these,  the  Cooke 
homestead,  which  was  the  first  frame  house  built 
in  the  Islands,  is  now  a  missionary  museum.  The 
Castle  homestead,  greatly  enlarged  from  the 
original,  one-story  plaster  cottage,  is  now  used 
by  the  Y.  W.  C.  A.  Whatever  one  may  think 
of  missionary  work  in  general,  whatever  absurd 
tales  one  may  hear  of  the  self-seeking  of  these  par- 
ticular missionaries,  the  imagination  and  the  heart 
must  be  touched  by  this  plain  old  church  and  these 
pathetic  little  old  houses  where,  nearly  a  hundred 
years  ago,  a  band  of  devoted  men  and  women, 
desperately  poor,  separated  by  six  months  from 
home  and  friends,  gave  up  their  lives  to  what  they 
believed  was  God's  work.  That  their  children  and 
their  grandchildren  chose,  most  of  them,  to  remain 
in  this  land  of  their  birth  and  to  enter  secular 
life;  that  they  have  largely  guided  politics  and 
business,  has  been  a  lasting  blessing  to  the  Islands. 
Their  presence  only  has  made  the  people  capable 


HONOLULU  97 

of  becoming  normally   and   naturally   American 
citizens. 

Kawaiahao,  which  still  has  the  largest  Hawaiian 
congregation  in  the  Islands,  and  where  the  serv- 
ices are  still  conducted  in  the  Hawaiian  language, 
is  the  only  church  in  Honolulu  built  in  a  style 
characteristic  of  the  tropics,  a  style  which  should 
be  equally  characteristic  of  Honolulu.  Central 
Union  (corner  Beretania  and  Richards  Streets), 
a  non-sectarian  church,  the  place  of  worship  of 
most  of  the  descendants  of  the  missionaries,  and 
the  strongest  numerically  and  financially  in  the 
city,  is  built  of  grey-blue  native  stone,  but  is 
architecturally  characteristic  of  a  New  England 
town  during  the  period,  about  twenty  or  thirty 
years  ago,  when  buildings  were  most  unprepos- 
sessing. St.  Andrew's  Cathedral  (Emma  Street), 
formerly  the  property  of  the  Church  of  England 
and  the  seat  of  an  English  bishop,  who  was  Royal 
Chaplain,  now  under  a  bishop  of  the  American 
Episcopal  Church,  is  a  simple  and  beautiful  build- 
ing in  a  style  which  people  are  pleased  to  call 
Victorian  Gothic.  The  Roman  Catholic  Cathedral 
(Fort  Street)  is  a  plain,  square  stone  building, 
which  is  rapidly  being  ruined  in  appearance  by 
the  application  on  the  outside  of  what  is  believed 
to  be  Gothic  ornamentation.  Like  all  small  Ameri- 
can cities,  Honolulu  has,  too,  meeting-houses  rep- 
resenting most   of  the  normal  and  abnormal   of 


98  HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

the  Christian  denominations.  With  one  or  two 
exceptions  these  buildings  are  unsubstantial  and 
hideous,  but  are  fortunately  inconspicuous. 

The  excellent  school  system  of  the  city  is  ap- 
propriately housed.  The  public  grammar  and 
high  school  buildings,  most  of  them  comparatively 
new,  are  built  according  to  approved  methods  of 
school-house  construction,  and  in  their  outward 
appearance  suggest  a  hopeful  reaction  in  the  direc- 
tion of  suitable  architecture.  They  are  long,  low, 
and  cool-looking,  in  a  style  adapted  from  the  Span- 
ish, which  is  admirably  suited  to  the  surroundings. 
One  older  school  is  established  in  the  Bishop  home- 
stead on  Emma  Street,  the  house  where  Mrs. 
Bishop,  the  last  of  the  royal  line  of  Kamehameha, 
died  in  1884.  It  has  not  been  changed  and  still 
looks  like  an  expensive  private  house  of  forty 
years  ago,  but  is  worth  a  visit  because  of  its 
historic  associations  and  because  of  the  beauty  of 
its  grounds.  A  little  further  up  the  same  street, 
opposite  the  gloriously  tropical  gardens  of  Judge 
Dole,  are  the  plain  wooden  buildings  of  the  old 
royal  school  where  formerly  the  chiefs  were  edu- 
cated. 

Mrs.  Bishop,  who  was  the  finest  type  of  Ha- 
waiian woman,  refused  the  throne  to  which  she 
was  heir  and  at  her  death  left  her  large  property 
for  educational  purposes.  It  has  been  used  in 
building  the  Kamehameha  School  for  Hawaiians, 


HONOLULU  99 

situated  about  two  miles  west  of  the  city.  Mr. 
Bishop,  a  man  of  power,  charm,  and  loyalty,  has 
supplemented  her  gift  by  adding  to  the  school 
equipment  a  biological  laboratory,  by  generous 
endowment,  and  by  building  the  great  Museum. 
Kamehameha  is  a  semi-military  school,  with  a 
membership  of  about  250  Hawaiian  and  partly 
Hawaiian  boys.  Across  the  street  from  the  boys' 
school  is  situated  a  girls'  school,  with  about  125 
pupils.  The  large  group  of  buildings  of  native 
stone,  the  walls  covered  with  vines,  would  com- 
pare favourably  with  the  buildings  of  any  Ameri- 
can school,  and  in  their  setting  of  trees,  with  the 
nearby  mountains  as  a  background,  are  unique. 
Here  the  boys  are  taught  trades  as  well  as  ele- 
mentary subjects.  To  see  them  marching  to  chapel 
in  the  morning,  neat  and  manly  in  their  grey 
uniforms,  to  watch  them  working  at  their  desfcs  or 
in  the  lathe  or  forge  shops,  or  playing  football 
on  the  campus,  makes  one  understand  why  it  is 
that  the  school  turns  out  the  most  useful  class  of 
native  citizens. 

Another  school  or  group  of  schools  primarily 
for  Hawaiians  is  the  Mid-Pacific  Institute,  situ- 
ated in  Manoa  Valley.  The  best  known  of  this 
group  is  the  Kawaiahao  Seminary,  now  established 
in  a  large  building  of  rough  stone  in  a  high,  cool 
site,  which  is  in  every  way  preferable  to  the  old 
situation  an  King  Street,  near  Kawaiahao  Church. 


100        HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

This  school  was  started  by  the  missionaries  and 
has  educated  many  of  the  best  Hawaiian  women. 
Another  school  in  this  group  is  the  Mills  Institute, 
established  about  twenty-five  years  ago  by  Mr.  F. 
W.  Damon  for  the  education  of  Chinese  and 
Japanese  youth.  It  has  now  broadened  its  scope 
to  cover  other  nationalities.  The  Mid-Pacific  In- 
stitute, which  represents  work  of  a  semi-missionary 
character,  occupies  about  75  acres  of  land,  and 
will  probably  establish  other  schools  for  the  study 
of  theology  and  mission  work. 

Only  one  other  school  need  be  mentioned,  Oahu 
College,  or,  as  it  is  familiarly  called,  Punahou, 
situated  on  Punahou  Street,  at  the  mouth  of 
Manoa  Valley.  The  city  has  grown  out  and  sur- 
rounded it  now,  but  when  the  school  was  started 
by  the  missionaries  for  the  education  of  their  chil- 
dren and  the  children  of  other  foreigners  in  the 
Islands  it  was  well  out  in  the  country.  At  Puna- 
hou most  of  the  girls  and  boys  who  go  to  American 
colleges  are  prepared.  It  sends  every  year  stu- 
dents to  Harvard,  Yale,  the  University  of  Cali- 
fornia, and  elsewhere.  The  school  has  well- 
equipped  buildings  in  a  park  of  90  acres.  The 
great  algaroba  trees  at  the  entrance  are  the  finest 
in  Honolulu;  there  are  beautiful  avenues  of  royal 
palms ;  a  pond  of  wonderful  pink  and  blue  water 
lilies ;  orchards  of  various  tropical  fruits ;  and  all 
this  in  one  of  the  coolest  situations  near  the  city. 


HONOLULU  101 

On  the  hill  back  is  the  splendid  athletic  field  where 
most  of  the  football  and  baseball  games  of  the  city 
are  played,  a  spot  where  spectators  can  look  from 
the  game  over  the  plains  to  the  sea  and  to  Dia- 
mond Head. 

A  building  of  real  interest,  constructed  of  brown 
tufa  stone  from  Punch  Bowl  and  surrounded  by 
striking  gardens,  is  Lunalilo  House.  This  was 
established  by  bequest  of  King  Lunalilo  as  a  home 
for  aged  and  indigent  Hawaiians,  and  here  about 
a  hundred  of  them  live  on  and  on.  Some  are  blind ; 
some  deaf;  all  are  decrepit.  They  sit  in  the  sun 
under  the  palm  trees  and  talk  of  times  seventy 
years  ago,  quarrel  happily  and  vociferously,  and 
sometimes  marry — these  octogenarians  and  nono- 
genarians.  They  have  plenty  to  eat,  comfortable 
quarters,  a  weekly  excursion  to  church  in  an  omni- 
bus, and,  life  having  become  something  nearly 
approximate  to  Heaven,  they  see  no  valid  reason 
for  changing  their  state.  Not  seldom  do  they 
pass  the  century  mark  and  many  remember,  or 
claim  to  remember,  the  death  of  the  first  Kame- 
hameha. 

Another  monument  to  the  generosity  of  a  sov- 
ereign is  the  Queen's  Hospital,  near  the  centre  of 
the  city.  In  1859,  by  large  donations  and  by 
personal  solicitation  of  Kamehameha  IV  and  Queen 
Emma,  the  money  for  this  institution  was  raised. 
It  is  well  worth  a  visit  on  account  of  the  beauty 


102         HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

of  its  grounds,  which  are  almost  a  jungle  of 
tropical  growth  and  contain  many  uncommon 
plants.  The  winding  avenue  of  date  palms  could 
not  be  surpassed,  and  directly  behind  the  palms 
are  masses  of  most  luxuriant  and  often  sweet- 
smelling  vegetation.  If  one  could  only  look  out 
from  the  jungle  on  wastes  of  golden  sand  instead 
of  on  busy  streets  it  would  be  easy  to  imagine  one- 
self in  Count  Landon's  garden  in  Biskra. 

There  are  in  Honolulu  two  public  collections  of 
the  highest  importance  and  interest,  the  Bishop 
Museum  at  Kamehameha  School  and  the  Aquarium 
at  Waikiki.  The  Museum,  covering  all  aspects  of 
the  islands  of  the  Pacific,  zoological,  geographical, 
ethnological,  and  historical,  has  become,  under  the 
able  management  of  Mr.  William  T.  Brigham, 
one  of  the  great  world  museums.  Its  collections, 
which  are  admirably  arranged,  are  of  incompa- 
rable value  to  the  student  of  science,  and — which 
is  not  always  the  case — are  keenly  interesting  to 
the  layman.  Here  one  sees  the  ancient  royal  re- 
galia, superb  yellow  feather  cloaks  and  helmets, 
as  well  as  kahilis,  the  great  feather  standards  of 
every  colour,  which  were  the  insignia  of  rank. 
These  regalia,  which  had  been  inherited  by  Mrs. 
Bishop,  formed  the  nucleus  of  the  Museum  collec- 
tions. Passing  from  the  room  where  these  are,  one 
sees  weapons  of  all  kinds ;  implements  of  stone  and 
of  wood  and  of  bone ;  life-sized  groups  illustrating 


HONOLULU  lOS 

the  tenacious  but  nevertheless  passing  customs  of 
the  Hawaiians,  as  well  as  the  life  of  other  Pacific 
islands ;  innumerable  birds,  many  of  them  extinct ; 
land-shells  with  their  exquisite  colouring;  speci- 
mens of  flora  and  of  fauna.  The  Museum  is  dis- 
tinctly divided  into  a  Hawaiian  and  a  Polynesian 
section,  but  the  collections  are  being  so  rapidly 
augmented  and  are  so  often  changed  that  no  guide 
can  be  given.  There  are  attendants  to  show  people 
about  and  there  are  handbooks.  The  Museum  is 
open  daily,  except  Sunday,  and  ought  not  to  be 
omitted  by  any  one  who  is  visiting  Honolulu. 

In  its  more  limited  way,  the  Aquarium  at  Wai- 
kiki — open  every  day — is  of  equal  interest.  It  is 
said  to  be  second  in  importance  to  the  aquarium  at 
Naples,  but  certainly  far  surpasses  it  in  the 
beauty  of  its  collection.  The  fish  are  indescrib- 
ably beautiful,  and  some  of  them — which  is  one 
of  the  delights  of  an  aquarium — are  indescribably 
funny  in  their  actions  and  in  their  expressions. 
And  the  queer  Hawaiian  names  also  are  sometimes 
amusing.  One  queer  little  fish,  for  example,  is 
named  the  Humiihumunuikunukeapuaa.  The  bril- 
liance of  their  colours,  the  extraordinary  blending 
and  striping  and  spotting,  seemingly  impossible 
in  their  combinations,  yet  always  resulting  in  har- 
mony, might  well  be  ^  the  life  study  of  an  artist, 
whether  sane  or  "  futuriste."    One  feels  that  these 


104         HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

fish  have  absorbed  all  the  vivid  colours  of  the  sun- 
shot  tropical  sea  which  was  their  home. 

The  Aquarium  is  at  the  edge  of  Kapiolani  Park. 
Here  there  are  charming  drives  and  walks  along 
palm-lined  avenues,  between  canals  and  ponds  filled 
with  red  and  white  and  blue  and  pink  water  lilies 
or  with  masses  of  the  pale  lavender  water  hyacinth, 
across  rustic  bridges  to  little  islands  dotted  with 
fan  palms,  between  masses  of  brilliant-leaved  cro- 
tons  or  of  hibiscus  or  of  oleanders.  And  always 
through  the  trees  there  are  glimpses  of  the  distant 
blue  mountains,  always,  when  the  wind  is  at  rest, 
there  is  the  murmur  of  the  sea.  The  park  covers 
about  125  acres,  and  with  proper  financial  support 
could  be  made  one  of  the  loveliest  gardens  in  exist- 
ence. As  it  is,  it  looks  and  is  unkempt;  many  of 
the  plants  are  allowed  to  spread  too  much  and  are 
not  properly  cared  for,  but  no  lack  of  care  can 
destroy  the  colour  of  the  flowers  nor  the  charm 
of  the  frame.  The  city  controls  other  smaller 
parks,  but  in  the  tropics,  where  every  house,  how- 
ever humble,  has  its  garden,  there  is  not  the  im- 
perative need  for  breathing  space  that  there  is 
in  most  cities,  and  as  down-town  parks  Thomas 
Square,  of  five  or  six  acres,  and  Emma  Square,  of 
hardly  more  than  an  acre,  serve  as  public  gardens 
and  places  for  band  concerts.  The  other  public 
parks  are  laid  out,  therefore,  primarily  as  play- 
grounds and  athletic  fields. 


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HONOLULU  105 

Private  gardens  line  all  the  streets,  their  lux- 
uriant trees  and  shrubbery  happily  masking  the 
houses  themselves,  most  of  which  make  no  pretense 
to  anything  but  comfort.  People  live  out  of  doors, 
and  the  result  is  that  broad  vine-covered  verandas 
or  "  lanais  " — the  Hawaiian  term  is  used  univer- 
sally— are  the  most  noticeable  and  characteristic 
features  of  many  of  the  houses.  The  glory  of  the 
gardens  is  their  palms — royal  palms  and  dates 
principally,  but  also  wine  palms  and  fan  palms — 
and  their  flowering  trees.  In  the  spring  the  Poin- 
ciana  regia  makes  huge  flaming  umbrellas  of  orange 
or  scarlet  or  crimson ;  the  Golden  Shower,  some- 
times a  stately  tree,  is  hung  with  its  thousands 
of  loose  clusters  of  yellow  bells ;  the  Cacia  nodessa 
spreads  its  great  sheaves  of  shellpink  and  white 
blossoms  like  a  glorified  apple-tree;  the  Pride  of 
India  is  a  mist  of  lavender.  But  at  all  times  of 
the  year  these  trees  look  well,  and  in  addition  to 
them  there  are  gigantic  banyans  throwing  cool 
purple  masses  of  shade ;  algarobas  with  their  feath- 
ery leaves  through  which  the  sunlight  is  pleasantly 
diluted  and  the  insignificant  flowers  of  which  sup- 
ply the  tons  of  honey  exported  annually  to  Eng- 
land. Near  the  coast  the  ancient  indigenous  hao, 
half-tree,  half-creeper,  builds  natural  summer- 
houses.  So  thickly  does  this  tree  grow  that  there 
is  fantastic  truth  in  Mark  Twain's  statement  that 
when  the  hao  is  massed  at  the  foot  of  a  low  cliff 


106         HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

cattle  walk  from  the  clifF  brink  into  its  topmost 
branches  and  roost  comfortably,  like  hens.  Nor 
is  there  altogether  falsehood  in  his  other  state- 
ment that  the  cocoanut-trees  which  fringe  Ha- 
waiian shores  look  like  feather-dusters  struck  by 
lightning.  They  do,  and  yet  no  tree  is  more 
stately  than  this  slender  spire,  crowned  high  in 
the  air  with  its  cluster  of  graceful  leaves.  Stories 
of  monkeys  throwing  down  the  nuts  are  only 
untrue  because  there  are  no  monkeys.  The  Ha- 
waiians,  however,  run  up  the  trees  almost  as 
monkeys  would  to  gather  the  fruit.  The  vines  in 
Honolulu  are  no  less  striking  than  are  the  flower- 
ing trees  and  are  in  bloom  more  continuously. 
Bougainvillea,  magenta  or  brick-red  or  cherry 
colour,  grows  to  the  tops  of  the  highest  trees  and 
makes  mounds  of  colour  over  many  an  unsightly 
barn;  the  bignonia  grows  as  an  impenetrable  cur- 
tain of  brilliant  orange ;  there  are  walls  of  purple 
or  yellow  alamander ;  the  "  yellow  vine,"  another 
bignonia,  climbing  high  into  the  trees,  drops  its 
long,  restless  fringes  of  lemon-yellow  flowers ;  the 
less  common  beaumontia  holds  up  its  pearl-white 
cups,  pencilled  with  pink  on  the  outside,  each  as 
large  as  a  teacup.  Other  less  noticeable  vines,  such 
as  the  ivory  stephanotis  and  ylang-ylang,  make  the 
air  about  them  heavy  with  their  sweetness.  And 
beneath  all  these  the  shrubs  add  still  other  colours. 
The  hibiscus  is  cultivated  as  nowhere  else,  many 


HONOLULU  107 

working  over  it  as  the  Dutch  work  over  their 
tulips.  The  commonest  form  is  the  single  scarlet, 
but  there  are  single  pink  and  white  and  yellow 
flowers,  and  others  cut  like  coral  and  of  the  shade 
of  coral.  There  are  double  ones,  too,  of  pale 
chrome  or  vivid  gold,  or  of  pink,  and  white,  and 
crimson  like  finest  peonies.  There  are  shrubs  of 
all  descriptions  with  coloured  foliage;  there  are 
plumarias  of  white  or  orange-yellow  growing  out 
of  bare  branches  that  look  like  cactus ;  there  are 
oleanders  of  all  colours,  and  poinsettias  that  grow 
to  the  size  of  small  trees.  The  stone  wall  around 
two  sides  of  Oahu  College  is  covered  thickly  with 
night-blooming  cereus,  and  the  spectacle  on  a 
moonlight  night  when  thousands  of  the  great  white 
flowers  are  open  at  once  is  indescribably  beautiful. 
Only  the  normal  garden  flowers  are  rare,  and  this 
not  through  any  fault  of  soil  or  climate — Honolulu 
used  to  rival  California  in  its  roses — but  because 
of  plant  pests  that  have  been  introduced  from 
Japan  and  the  American  continent.  These  are 
gradually  being  controlled,  and  within  a  few  years 
every  Honolulu  garden  will  again  be  a  garden  of 
roses.  Still,  there  are  asters  the  year  round,  car- 
nations by  the  million,  most  of  the  annuals,  gladi- 
oli, and  lilies,  so  one  is  not  at  a  loss  to  find  flowers 
for  the  house. 

Perhaps  the  best  of  these  private  gardens  are 
those  along  Nuuanu  Avenue,  which  was  settled 


108         HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

early,  and  those  in  the  vicinity  of  Oahu  College, 
although  this  general  division  does  not  mean  that 
there  are  not  good  gardens  in  all  parts  of  the 
city.  One  of  the  most  satisfactory  places,  from 
the  picturesque  point  of  view,  is  Washington  Place, 
the  home  of  the  Queen,  near  the  Hawaiian  Hotel. 
It  surpasses  most  because  the  hjmse  is  as  good 
as  the  garden,  and  both  express  the  tropics. 
The  house  has  wide  lanais,  supported  by  high 
white  columns,  something  in  the  Southern  colonial 
style,  and  is  simple  and  dignified.  Around  it  are 
great  trees  that  shut  away  the  street,  that  keep 
the  house  always  cool.  The  whole  has  an  air  of 
retirement  expressive  of  the  attitude  of  the  Queen 
herself. 

There  are  everywhere  beautiful  single  gardens, 
stately  avenues  of  royal  palms,  masses  of  colour, 
but  what  the  visitor  carries  away  as  something 
which  can  never  be  forgotten  is  not  the  impression 
so  much  of  any  single  spot  as  of  the  whole ;  of  one 
great  garden  where  many  men  have  built  their 
habitations — a  garden  in  an  amphitheatre  of 
glorious  mountains  over  which  march  columns  of 
clouds  that  gleam  white  against  the  blue  of  the 
sky ;  a  garden  looking  out  over  a  shining,  tropical 
ocean,  peaceful,  happy  in  the  sunshine;  an  oasis, 
small  but  perfect,  in  the  immense  desert  of  the 
Pacific. 


CHAPTER  VII 

OAHU 

The  Island  of  Oahu,  halfway  between  Kauai  and 
Maui,  contains  598  square  miles  and  is  the  third 
in  size  of  the  group.  The  shore  line  is  extremely 
irregular  and  the  Island,  therefore,  has  more  har- 
bours than  any  of  the  others.  The  low  coastal 
plains  are  usually  uplifted  coral  reefs  and  there  is 
also  much  growing  coral  around  the  Island.  There 
are  two  mountain  ranges,  one  running  the  length 
of  the  Island  from  northwest  to  southeast,  the 
other  forming  the  southwestern  portion.  These 
ranges,  very  differently  affected  by  erosion,  give 
varied  scenery.  Honolulu,  the  only  important 
town,  is  the  natural  centre  for  excursions,  most  of 
which  can  be  made  in  half  a  day  or  a  day  by 
carriage  or  by  automobile.* 

First  to  be  seen  are  some  of  the  many  valleys 
cutting  the  leeward  slope  of  the  principal  moun- 
tain range,  valleys  of  infinite  variety,  and  all 
beautiful.  Of  these  the  most  accessible  and  thor- 
oughly characteristic  are  Manoa,  the  first  valley 
to  the  east,  and  Nuuanu,  back  of  the  city.    Manoa 

*For  prices,  which  are  regulated  by  law,  see  Appendix, 
p.  233. 

109 


no         HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

is  very  broad,  with  an  undulating  floor  running 
back  to  the  base  of  the  mountains,  which  rise 
abruptly.  Konahuanui  (3,105  feet),  at  the  left, 
is  the  highest  peak  of  the  range,  and  Olympus — 
unfortunate  misnomer — at  the  right,  appears  only 
a  little  lower.  From  the  mountains  long  ridges 
descend  gently  to  the  plain,  the  sides  of  the  valley, 
however,  being  steep  and  rocky.  The  lower  part 
of  Manoa,  which  is  reached  by  the  electric  cars,  is 
being  rapidly  built  over,  but  beyond  the  houses 
are  taro  patches,  groves  of  banana,  masses  of 
wild  guava,  and  jungles  of  lantana.  Nothing  could 
be  more  serenely  lovely  than  the  semicircle  of 
mountains,  the  green  of  all  tints — ^yellow  of  kukui, 
neutral  of  lehua  and  ferns,  and  emerald  of  ohia — 
shading  into  blue  as  the  hills  rise  higher.  The 
trade  wind  clouds  drifting  across  the  summits  dis- 
perse in  misty  showers  that  keep  the  valley  always 
fresh  and  yet  hardly  obscure  the  sunlight. 

Very  different  is  Nuuanu  Valley.  This  is  a  nar- 
row cut  through  the  mountains,  affording  the  only 
route,  except  that  around  the  coast,  to  the  wind- 
ward side  of  the  Island.  An  excellent  road  winds 
up  the  valley;  after  it  leaves  the  lower,  inhabited 
part,  between  fields  of  long  grass  that  ripple  in 
the  wind  like  waves,  between  lines  of  tropical  trees 
and  rocks  overgrown  by  vines.  Behind  there  is 
always  the  ocean  and  on  either  side,  and  ahead. 


OAHU  111 

the  mountains,  apparently  blocking  the  way. 
After  a  rain  hundreds  of  miniature  waterfalls 
spray  over  the  sides  of  the  valley,  only  to  be 
blown  away  before  reaching  the  bottom.  Quite 
suddenly,  about  six  miles  from  the  city,  one  reaches 
the  Pali,  the  precipice  1,600  feet  high,  over  which 
the  conqueror  Kamehameha  drove  the  army  of 
the  King  of  Oahu.  On  turning  a  sharp  corner  the 
south  side  of  the  Island  is  gone  and  one  looks  down 
on  the  windward  coast.  It  is  one  of  the  most 
unexpected  and  amazingly  beautiful  views  in  the 
world.  The  narrow  northern  coastal  plain  is  but- 
tressed on  one  side  by  the  abrupt  precipitous  mass 
I  of  mountains,  and  on  the  other  is  washed  by  the 
sea.  Little  islands  along  the  shore  break  the  even 
surface  of  the  water.  The  plain  is  dark  with  wild 
|;  guava  bushes,  or  tinted  by  the  yellow-green  of 
cane  fields,  or  checkered  with  the  grey  of  pine- 
ipples,  or  cut  with  great  red  gashes  where  the 
irth  is  exposed.  The  mountains  reach  on  and  on, 
it  first  bare,  bleak  precipices,  then  torn  into  som- 
ire  gorges,  deep  purple-blue,  forbidding  and  fasci- 
lating.  One  looks  and  looks,  and  the  colours  shift, 
id  the  islets  glow  more  brightly  or  are  blurred 
►r  an  instant  in  a  sudden  spray  of  rain,  and  the 
;a  changes  ceaselessly  like  a  great  opal,  and  the 
|urf  makes  white,  waving  fringes  on  the  yellow 
md.  Gradually  one  becomes  conscious  that  the 
road,   which   seemed   suddenly  to   end,   continues 


112         HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

down  the  mountains,  cut  in  tortuous  line  around 
the  precipices.  And  then  one  inevitably  goes  on  a 
little  further  in  order  to  look  back  and  so  to 
get  the  full,  overwhelming  impression  of  the  tower- 
ing cliffs.  Little  mountains  these  are,  when  com- 
pared to  the  Alps,  and  yet  in  all  Switzerland  there 
is  no  view  more  wonderful,  more  varied,  more 
memorable  than  this,  because  there  is  no  view 
that  more  stirs  the  imagination.  Later,  when  the 
scene  has  become  a  memory,  one  asks  oneself  why 
this  is,  and  the  answer  is,  perhaps,  the  Sea.  The 
far,  naked  horizon,  the  tireless  surge  of  the  waters, 
the  consciousness  that  for  four  thousand  miles  to 
the  north  and  to  the  west  there  is  nothing  but  this 
endless,  breathing  ocean — the  power  of  it;  and 
against  this  seemingly  resistless  force  only  the 
ragged  volcanic  mountains  of  a  lonely  island, 
breasting  winds  and  waves.  There  is  something 
to  inspire  in  the  thought.  And  then,  if  it  was 
afternoon,  the  sun  shot  golden  spears  of  light 
through  the  clouds  over  the  western  mountains, 
making  the  plain  between  the  dark  gorges  and  the 
sea  all  radiant,  and  the  gold  glimmered  on  the 
waves.  So  later  one  can  realise  that,  after  all, 
it  is  not  the  conflict,  but  the  harmony  of  these 
elemental  forces  that  is  so  impressive. 

No  view  in  Oahu  is  as  spectacularly  beautiful, 
as  stirring,  as  that  sudden  vision  from  the  Pali. 


OAHU  113 

Others  are  as  lovely,  more  peaceful,  perhaps  more 
permanently  satisfying.  Pre-eminent  among  these 
is  the  prospect  from  Mt.  Tantalus,  back  of 
Honolulu,  where  people  are  beginning  to  build 
summer  cottages.  From  behind  Punch  Bowl  the 
road  (not  open  to  automobiles)  winds  upward 
along  the  lower  ridges,  which  have  been  reforested 
with  eucalyptus,  Australian  wattle,  and  other 
trees,  skirts  the  last  steep  cone  of  the  mountain, 
and  loses  itself  in  the  native  forest,  almost  a 
jungle,  that  covers  a  maze  of  tiny  valleys  and 
old  volcanic  cones.  From  the  slopes  of  Tantalus 
one  gets  the  whole  sweep  of  ocean  from  Diamond 
Head,  and  beyond,  to  Barber's  Point,  the  southern 
end  of  the  Island.  Just  below.  Punch  Bowl  holds 
up  its  empty  crater.  West  and  east  from  the 
city  stretch  the  undulating  plains  with  their  diver- 
sity of  vegetation.  Far  to  the  right  is  the  silver 
line  of  Pearl  Harbour,  and  beyond  it  the  faint 
blue  mass  of  the  Waianae  Mountains.  Through 
trees  on  the  nearer  ridges  Diamond  Head  stands 
out,  yellow-brown  against  the  metallic  blue  of  the 
sea.  From  almost  everywhere  one  sees  it — this 
hill  guarding  the  eastern  approach — low,  long,  and 
kindly,  dignified  as  an  ancient,  titanic  lion  asleep, 
its  forepaws  washed  by  the  waves.  One  grows  to 
love  it  and  to  look  for  it  as  the  key-note  and 
index  of  every  view.  At  the  Pali  an  hour  at  a 
time  is  enough.    It  is  a  framed  picture,  clear-cut 


114.         HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

and  masterly  in  the  drawing,  exciting  to  the  im- 
agination, but  finally  almost  tiring  in  its  perfec- 
tion. The  view  from  Tantalus  has  no  frame 
except  the  horizon.  One  looks  away  from  the 
mountains  but  feels  them  as  a  background.  There 
is  always  something  new  to  be  discovered  in  the 
picture.  There  is  a  serenity  about  it  that  is 
infinitely  restful.  Jean  Jacques  Rousseau  would 
have  sobbed  violently  and  loudly  at  the  Pali.  On 
Tantalus  he  would  have  smiled,  if  he  knew  how  to 
smile,  or  if  tears  were  his  inevitable  method  of 
expression,  they  would  at  least  have  been  silent, 
happy  tears. 

There  are  many  drives  or  automobile  trips  to 
be  made  near  Honolulu.  One,  passing  through 
Waikiki,  follows  the  corniche  road  around  Dia- 
mond Head,  to  Waialae,  with  its  excellent  school 
for  boys  who  cannot  afford  the  tuition  fee  at 
Punahou,  its  wild  and  beautiful  valley  (only  to  be 
reached  on  horseback),  and  its  great  cocoanut 
groves ;  then  back  through  the  new  residence  dis- 
trict of  Kaimuki.  Good  roads  lead  into  some  of 
the  valleys  and  to  the  new  residence  sections  on  the 
heights  to  the  west  and  the  east  of  the  city.  A 
delightful  drive  is  westward  to  Moanalua,  with 
its  queer  little  twin  craters,  one  half-filled  by  a 
salt  lake,  its  rice  fields,  its  excellent  polo  ground, 
and  its  gardens,  one  of  which,  that  of  Mr.  S.  M. 
Damon,  is  large,  admirably  laid  out,  and  well  kept, 


OAHU  115 

and  IS  often  open  to  the  public,  as  are  the  great 
private  gardens  of  Italy. 

The  railway  that  will  eventually  make  the  cir- 
cuit of  the  Island,  after  leaving  Honolulu,  passes 
through  Moanalua,  cuts  across  the  cane  fields  of 
the  Honolulu  Plantation,  makes  almost  the  circuit 
of  Pearl  Harbour,  passes  Oahu  and  Ewa  Planta- 
tions, rounds  Barber's  Point,  and,  from  Waianae, 
follows  the  western  shore  of  the  Island  through 
Waialua  to  Kahuku,  the  northwestern  point,  and 
then,  turning  eastward,  ends  about  ten  miles  be- 
yond the  point.  From  the  windows  of  the  train 
(the  left-hand  side  is  best)  one  gets  as  good  an  idea 
of  this  part  of  the  Island  as  can  be  obtained  on  a 
three-hour  railroad  trip.  A  few  miles  from  Hono- 
lulu one  reaches  Pearl  Harbour,  with  its  ten  or 
more  square  miles  of  deep  water,  perhaps  the  finest 
land-locked  harbour  in  the  world.  Its  shores  are 
low,  deeply  indented,  sloping  gradually  upward 
at  the  north  and  west.  In  places  the  cane  fields 
extend  to  the  very  edge  of  the  water.  In  places 
there  are  bits  of  almost  barren  plain  where  only 
lantana  grows — the  pest  of  the  Islands,  that  on 
the  mainland  is  so  tenderly  cultivated  in  many 
a  garden  for  the  sake  of  its  pretty  mauve  and 
pink  or  white  and  scarlet  flowers.  In  the  harbour 
are  low  islands,  bare,  or  spotted  with  trees  and 
occasional  houses.  On  the  flat  eastern  banks  are 
the  government  buildings,  barracks  and  shops,  and 


116        HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

the  great  drydock.  On  the  Peninsula,  in  the 
western  part  of  the  harbour,  is  a  colony  of 
summer  cottages,  each  with  its  trees  and  garden, 
where  many  Honolulu  people  go  for  week-ends  to 
enjoy  the  excellent  bathing  and  boating.  Noth- 
ing could  be  prettier  than  the  view  from  here,  across 
the  still  water,  dotted  with  sailboats  and  canoes 
and,  now  that  the  dredging  of  the  entrance  has 
been  finished,  bearing  great  grey  battleships  and 
cruisers ;  across  the  water  to  the  cloud-capped 
mountains  beyond  the  cane  fields,  and  far  to  the 
eastward  Diamond  Head,  distant  but  still  beauti- 
ful, jutting  into  the  sea. 

From  Pearl  Harbour  the  train  cuts  across 
the  broad  cane  fields  of  the  Ewa  Plantation, 
fields  that  in  the  flowering  season  are  a  sea  of 
waving  pale  violet  plumes,  like  feathery  pampas 
flowers.  The  huge  mill  and  pumping  stations  of 
the  plantation  may  be  visited.  Beyond,  on  the 
barren  plains  that  slope  upward  to  the  Waianae 
Mountains,  there  are  fields  of  sisal,  each  plant 
looking  like  a  rosette  of  spears  protruding  from 
the  ground.  Through  scrub  algaroba  forests, 
where  honey  bees  are  raised,  the  railroad  passes 
around  the  southern  end  of  the  Island  to  a  very 
narrow  plain,  sometimes  hardly  more  than  a  cause- 
way between  mountains  and  ocean,  and  across  the 
mouths  of  broad  valleys  which  run  deep  into  the 
heart  of  the  range.     In  these  valleys  is  grown 


OAHU  117 

most  of  the  cane  of  the  Waianae  Plantation.  At 
the  end  of  the  mountains,  on  the  western  sea,  is 
Waialua,  a  pretty  little  village  between  the  two 
ranges,  where,  on  the  beach,  a  delightful  hotel 
serves  good  luncheons  and  provides  clean,  com- 
fortable quarters  for  those  who  can  stay  a  few 
days  to  enjoy  the  splendid  surf  bathing  or  to  go 
goat  or  wild  turkey  shooting  in  the  mountains. 
The  view  of  Kaala,  with  its  surrounding  peaks 
and  gorges,  is  very  good  from  the  beach  in  front 
of  Haleiwa  Hotel.  The  Waialua  Plantation  is 
large  and  is,  for  Oahu,  unusually  picturesque  on 
account  of  the  hills  and  ravines  over  which  the 
cane  grows.  The  ditch  which  carries  water  from 
the  mountains,  and  the  reservoir  supplying  it,  are 
an  interesting  piece  of  engineering  work. 

Beyond  Waialua,  again  along  the  narrow  sea- 
board, the  surf  dashes  almost  to  the  windows  of 
the  cars.  The  mountains,  not  so  high,  are  more 
mugged  and  barren.  Over  the  rocks  in  one  place, 
however,  one  catches  a  glimpse  of  the  tops 
of  rubber  trees,  part  of  a  young  plantation. 
Along  the  rocky  shore  Hawaiian  fishermen 
are  often  seen,  bronze  in  colour,  dressed  only 
in  the  ancient  loin  cloth,  casting  their  nets 
into  the  waves.  They  come  probably  from 
Waimea,  where,  in  a  valley  a  few  miles  beyond 
Waialua,  is  one  of  the  few  remaining  primitive 


118         HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

Hawaiian  settlements.  In  this  valley  two  mem- 
bers of  Vancouver's  party,  Lieutenant  Hargest 
and  Mr.  Gooch,  an  astronomer,  were  murdered. 
Their  ship  had  stopped  for  water  and  the  two  had 
wandered  inland  to  explore  the  country.  It  was 
at  a  time  (1792)  when  the  Hawaiians  were  par- 
ticularly bitter  against  foreigners.  The  little 
valley,  with  its  ruined  temple  and  its  grass  houses, 
is  more  typical  of  Hawaii  before  1800  than  any- 
thing in  the  Island.  The  air  grows  cooler  as  the 
hills  recede,  the  breeze  fresher,  until,  at  the  north 
point  of  the  Island,  there  is  a  steady,  strong  wind 
blowing  in  across  the  ocean  from  the  northeast,  a 
wind  full  of  life,  a  sea  wind,  purer  than  any  other. 
It  tatters  the  leaves  of  the  cane  on  the  Kahuku 
Plantation,  but  does  not  hurt  the  cane  itself,  and 
the  moisture  of  it  brings  out  all  the  colours  in 
trees  and  flowers.  The  manager  of  the  plantation 
is  a  New  England  man,  and  back  of  his  house  are 
masses  of  wonderful  hollyhocks,  almost  the  only 
ones  on  the  Island. 

The  automobile  road  from  Honolulu  around  the 
Island  follows  the  line  of  the  railroad  to  Kahuku, 
except  from  Pearl  Harbour  to  Waialua,  where, 
instead  of  following  the  coast,  it  crosses  the 
plateau  between  the  two  mountain  ranges.  Here, 
at  an  altitude  of  about  1,000  feet,  are  stationed 
U.  S.  Cavalry  and  Infantry  quarters,  and  at 
almost  all  hours  of  the  day  troops  may  be  seen 


OAHU  119 

drilling  on  some  part  of  the  plain.  On  the  other 
side  of  the  road  from  the  encampment  are  thou- 
sands of  acres  of  pineapples,  the  fruit  from  which 
is  sent  to  all  parts  of  the  world.  Further  on,  the 
road  climbs  down  and  up  again  through  grim, 
barren  gorges  that  have  been  torn  out  by  centuries 
of  sudden  rainstorms.  The  largest  of  these  gulches 
is  Kipapa,  the  scene  of  one  of  the  bloodiest  of 
ancient  battles.  Beyond  the  dam  which  holds  back 
the  water  for  the  Waialua  Plantation  the  road 
descends  in  long  turns  to  the  Haleiwa  Hotel,  and 
from  here  to  Kahuku  follows  once  more  the  line 
of  the  railroad. 

The  northern  point  of  the  Island  marks  the  end 
of  the  first  half  of  the  one-day  automobile  trip  of 
ninety  miles  around  this  part  of  the  Island.  It 
is,  perhaps,  the  more  varied,  but  certainly  the 
less  beautiful  half  of  a  trip  that  in  European 
guidebooks  would  be  double  starred.  Six  miles 
beyond  Kahuku  the  road  passes  Laie,  the  Mormon 
settlement.  Several  hundred  Mormons  live  here, 
most  of  them  Hawaiians,  who  raise  sugar  cane  to 
be  ground  at  the  Kahuku  mill,  and  who  practise 
their  religion  more  strictly  in  accord  with  the  civil 
law  than  is  reputed  to  be  the  case  among  the 
Mormons  in  Utah.  The  coast  soon  becomes  nar- 
rower; the  mountains  rise  more  perpendicularly; 
the  valleys  are  more  like  canons.  One  of  them, 
Kaliuaa,  is  so  narrow  that  at  the  base   of  the 


120         HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

waterfall  at  its  southern  end  only  a  thin  lozenge 
of  sky  is  visible.  A  side  excursion  on  foot  to  this 
valley  is  well  worth  the  rough  walk  of  about  two 
miles.  It  is  filled  with  ohia  trees,  which  are  often 
laden  with  their  red,  somewhat  tasteless,  but  cool 
and  refreshing  fruit.  Natives,  on  entering  the 
gorge,  always  pick  the  large  polished  leaves  of 
the  ohia  and  lay  them  crossed  on  the  ground  as 
a  charm  to  prevent  rocks  falling  from  the  cliffs. 
The  waterfall  itself  is  thin  and  high,  sliding  in  a 
groove  down  the  solid  rock.  There  is  a  legend  to 
account  for  this  groove  that  the  demigod  Kama- 
puaa,  in  trying  to  escape  from  a  king  who  was 
chasing  him  for  stealing  chickens,  fled  into  the 
valley  and,  reaching  its  precipitous  end,  dragged 
his  canoe  up  the  face  of  the  rock,  thus  marking 
it  forever. 

The  ocean  on  this  northern  side  of  the  Island 
seems  to  be  of  a  quite  different  character.  In- 
stead of  a  choppy  sea,  variegated  in  colour,  as 
on  the  southern  shore,  it  is  an  even,  deep  blue,  and 
stately  billows  like  those  in  mid-ocean  roll  in,  to 
sweep  noiselessly  over  the  broad  beaches  of  white 
sand.  The  hills  press  more  and  more  closely  to 
the  water,  except  where  the  flat  valley  bottoms 
give  space  for  the  cultivation  of  rice  and  taro. 
Glimpses  up  these  valleys  reveal  a  more  luxuriant 
vegetation  than  on  the  leeward  slopes,  because  the 
mountains  intercept  much  of  the  rainfall. 


OAHU  121 

It  is  not  until  reaching  Kualoa  Point  that  one 
gets  the  most  glorious  view — the  reverse  of  that 
seen  from  Nuuanu  Pali.  Kaneohe  Bay,  deep,  pro- 
tected by  coral  reefs,  and  dotted  with  islands, 
many  of  which  are  the  peaks  of  submerged  volcanic 
hills,  lies  straight  ahead  beyond  another,  shorter 
point.  Between  sea  and  mountains  is  a  broken 
plain.  There  are  no  more  valleys,  the  mountains 
rising  like  a  continuous,  blue,  crenellated  wall  to 
beat  back  the  wind  and  to  catch  the  water  in  the 
clouds  that  drift  in  from  sea.  This  wall  of 
rock,  which,  beyond  the  Pali,  reaches  out  into  the 
sea  at  Mokapu  Point,  looks  almost  semicircular, 
and  it  is  possible  that  instead  of  being  the  work 
of  erosion  only,  it  is  the  magnificent  ruins  of  some 
stupendous  ancient  crater,  the  other  half  of  which 
has  sunk  into  the  sea.  The  less  spectacular  theory, 
that  it  is  the  result  of  centuries  of  beating  by 
wind  and  rain,  may  be  true,  but  whatever  the 
causes  the  final  panorama  is  superb. 

The  road  clings  to  the  shore.  The  mountains 
grow  more  and  more  impressive,  partly  through 
contrast,  as  they  are  seen  across  the  tender  green 
of  rice  fields  or  the  grey  of  pineapples,  partly 
because  they  really  become  higher  as  one  travels 
southeastward.  More  and  more  is  the  imagination 
stirred;  more  and  more  is  there  mystery  in  the 
blacker  shadows  that  reach  over  the  plain.  One 
believes  the  Hawaiian  legend  that  on  a  certain 


122         HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

night  of  every  year  the  conqueror  Kamehameha 
marches  with  his  ghostly  army  along  the  face  of 
these  hills  and  that  all  those  who  see  the  glimmer 
of  the  spears  in  the  moonlight  and  who  hear  the 
trampling  of  the  feet  must  surely  die.  At  Ahui- 
manu — in  English  the  "  gathering  place  of  birds  " 
— there  is  an  old  house,  at  the  end  of  a  branch 
road  leading  for  a  couple  of  miles  directly  away 
from  the  shore.  It  was  built  by  the  first  French 
Bishop  of  Honolulu  as  a  place  to  which  he  might 
retire  for  meditation  and  prayer.  It  stands  close 
to  the  foot  of  the  precipices  and  is  shadowed  with 
aged  trees.  From  its  windows  one  looks  up  and 
up  until  the  rocks  are  hidden  in  the  clouds.  They 
might  reach  the  sky  for  all  one  knows,  and  one 
very  soon  gets  to  believe  that  they  do.  Only  for 
a  few  hours  does  the  sun  reach  this  solitary  farm- 
house. The  only  sounds  are  the  murmur  of 
streams  and  the  roar  of  the  wind  as  it  strikes  the 
mountain  wall.  It  is  a  sombre  spot  in  a  way,  and 
yet  there  is  an  unworldly,  almost  superhuman 
fascination  about  it  that  somehow  sets  off  this 
secluded  corner  of  the  Island  as  something  quite 
apart  from  all  the  rest.  It  is  shut  in,  a  place  in 
which  to  dream — the  Bishop  knew  what  he  was 
doing  when  he  built — whereas  the  southern  slopes 
are  full  of  sunshine  in  which  are  all  the  simple 
realities  of  life. 

The   road  turns   away   from   the  sea   at  last, 


OAHU  128 

crosses  a  plain  covered  with  pineapples  and  leads 
straight  toward  the  precipice,  which  is  no  less 
abrupt  here  than  elsewhere,  though  not  so  high. 
The  ascent  would  seem  impossible  were  it  not  that 
one  can  see  the  road — a  line  twisting  and  turning 
around  the  rough  face  of  the  rocks.  And  a  good 
road  it  proves  to  be,  in  spite  of  the  hairpin  turns, 
which  in  late  years  have  been  eliminated  as  much 
as  is  humanly  possible.  As  one  ascends  the  view 
grows  broader,  less  detailed,  more  full  of  blending 
colours.  The  wind  roars  through  the  gap  above. 
A  long  curve  around  the  face  of  the  cliff  that  juts 
out  from  the  main  range,  rocks  rising  perpendicu- 
larly at  the  left  of  the  road  and  at  the  right 
descending  in  a  sheer  drop  of  several  hundred  feet, 
one  last  look  over  blue  ocean,  variegated  plain, 
and  dark  bliie  mountains,  and  then  suddenly 
through  the  gap  with  the  wind  and  before  one 
lies  peaceful  Nuuanu  Valley,  descending  gently  to 
the  city  and  the  southern  sea.  In  an  instant  the 
whole  character  of  the  scene  has  changed.  It  is 
no  longer  grand,  but  lovely;  black  mountain 
shadows  are  left  behind,  and  before  are  sunshine 
and  waving  yellow  grasses.  No  one  since  Dr. 
Johnson,  with  his  definition  of  mountains  as  "  con- 
siderable protuberances,"  could  make  the  circuit 
of  Oahu  without  enthusiasm,  and  even  Dr.  John- 
son, though  he  pretended  to  despise,  had  a  habit 
of  seeking  out  wild  scenery  in  which  to  spend  his 


124         HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

holidays.  No  motor  excursion  of  a  hundred  miles 
covers  more  varied  or  more  beautiful  country 
than  does  this. 

The  trip  around  the  shorter,  southeastern  end 
of  the  Island  can  only  be  made  as  a  whole  on 
horseback,  since  the  Waimanalo  Pali  at  the  eastern 
point  has  only  a  trail  across  it.  It  is  an  interest- 
ing drive,  however,  along  the  shore  eastward  from 
Honolulu.  Beyond  Diamond  Head  is  the  wide, 
sandy  plain  of  Waialae,  with  its  algaroba  trees 
and  its  cocoanuts ;  back  of  it  deep  valleys  cut  into 
the  mountains.  Beyond,  at  Niu,  which  is  the  last 
of  the  fertile  valleys,  there  are  interesting  ancient 
burial  caves  easily  reached  from  the  road  by  a 
five  minutes'  scramble  up  the  ridge.  Koko  Head, 
like  Diamond  Head  and  Punch  Bowl,  an  old  mud 
volcano,  here  juts  into  the  ocean.  From  it,  unless 
the  day  is  misty,  one  gets  a  good  view  of  the  Island 
of  Molokai  across  the  channel,  of  the  little  Island 
of  Lanai,  with  the  higher  mountains  of  west  Maui 
between.  Koko  Head  itself  is  absolutely  barren, 
as  is  the  land  beyond  it,  a  mass  of  rocks  and  lava 
sand.  Just  under  Koko  Head  to  the  east  is  a  won- 
derful little  horseshoe-shaped  bay,  very  deep  and 
often  very  rough,  as  the  waves  from  the  channel 
sweep  through  its  narrow  mouth.  This  is  a 
favourite  goal  for  the  exciting  sport  of  shark 
fishing.  The  sharks  are  caught  with  spears  at- 
tached to  heavy  cord  and,  after  being  speared, 


OAHU  125 

make  a  tremendous  fight  for  liberty.  Very  few  of 
them  are  man-eaters,  but  the  possibility  of  only 
one  makes  a  man  as  cautious  about  swimming  in 
an  unprotected  bay  like  this  as  the  presence  of  a 
single  man-eating  tiger  would  make  him  cautious 
about  wandering  through  the  woods  at  night. 
Fortunately  the  shark  hates  shallow  water,  since 
in  it  he  must  turn  over,  either  to  attack  or  to 
defend  himself,  and  the  result  is  that  no  sharks 
cross  the  coral  reefs  which  protect  many  parts  of 
the  Islands.  Swimming  at  Waikiki  and  at  other 
bathing  resorts  is,  therefore,  as  safe  as  swimming 
in  Y.  M.  C.  A.  pools.  A  story  widely  believed  that 
sharks  attack  only  white  men,  avoiding  the  dark- 
skinned  natives,  is  false.  The  natives  certainly 
are  less  easily  seen  in  the  water,  and  the  legend 
may  have  arisen  from  the  fact  that  the  Hawaiians 
are  fearless.  They  are  marvellous  swimmers  and 
will  sometimes  dive  under  a  shark  and  stab  it  in 
the  belly,  the  only  vulnerable  part.  The  fact  re- 
mains, however,  as  has  been  sadly  proved  more 
than  once,  that  if  a  man-eater  happens  to  see  a 
Hawaiian  who  has  got  too  far  away  from  his 
canoe  no  agility  can  save  him. 

Beyond  Koko  Head  a  new  carriage  road  winds 
upward  over  the  wild  desolation  of  rocks  to  the 
hill  above  the  great  lighthouse  at  Makapuu  Point, 
at  the  extreme  eastern  end  of  the  Island.  From 
here  the  roughest  kind  of  trail  leads  down  the 


126         HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

Waimanalo  Pali,  directly  over  the  water.  Soon 
after  reaching  the  bottom  of  the  cliffs  the  trail 
strikes  another  carriage  road  that  winds  over  a 
beautiful  rolling  seaboard  and  then,  avoiding  the 
cape  which  marks  the  eastern  boundary  of  the 
great  Koolau  half-basin,  it  strikes  back  through 
the  hills  to  the  foot  of  Nuuanu  Pali.  This  trip  is 
a  very  short  one  as  compared  to  that  around  the 
northern  end  of  the  Island— thirty  miles  as 
against  nearly  a  hundred — but  takes  as  long  on 
account  of  the  difficult  pass.  It  is  perhaps  as 
beautiful,  but  is  somewhat  a  repetition  of  the 
other  trip,  except  for  the  barren  plains  beyond 
Koko  Head.  The  trip  to  Waimanalo  may  best  be 
taken  as  a  side  trip  from  the  foot  of  Nuuanu  Pali, 
and  the  excursion  to  the  lighthouse  and  back  to 
Honolulu  made  on  a  separate  day,  thus  avoiding 
the  really  dangerous  trail  at  Makapuu  Point. 

For  those  able  to  take  rough  walks  Oahu  offers 
innumerable  opportunities.  First  and  easiest,  be- 
cause of  the  good  trails,  are  the  many  tramps 
that  can  be  taken  in  the  vicinity  of  Mt.  Tantalus, 
back  of  Honolulu.  An  excellent  trail  branches  to 
the  left  from  the  Tantalus  Road  just  behind 
Punch  Bowl.  It  follows  the  right-hand  ridge  of 
Pauoa,  a  shallow  valley  that  extends  only  two  or 
three  miles  into  the  mountains.  Across  the  valley, 
on  the  western  ridge,  is  Pacific  Heights,  a  recently 


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OAHU  127 

formed  residence  section,  reached  by  electric  cars. 
The  bottom  of  the  valley  is  lovely  to  look  down 
upon,  with  its  kitchen  gardens  and  its  bright 
green  taro  patches,  the  whole  terraced  and  laid 
out  in  rectangles.  The  trail  winds  along  the  face 
of  the  ridge,  now  in  the  open,  now  through  bits  of 
forest ;  drops  a  little  to  cross  the  marshy  plateau, 
overgrown  with  guavas,  at  the  head  of  the  valley ; 
turns  to  the  left,  climbs  again  for  a  short  distance, 
and  comes  out  suddenly  and  unexpectedly  over 
Nuuanu  Valley,  about  two-thirds  of  the  way  from 
Honolulu  to  the  Pali.  Here  there  is  an  almost 
sheer  drop  of  a  thousand  feet  or  more,  which  is, 
however,  overgrown  with  trees  and  ferns  and  vines. 
The  view  of  the  valley  is  superb,  and  looking  to 
the  right  one  can  see  through  the  gap  to  the 
ocean  on  the  other  side  of  the  Island.  From  here 
the  trail  turns  toward  the  mountains  again  and 
continues  northeastward,  always  overlooking  Nuu- 
anu Valley  or  the  gorges  that  lead  into  it,  and 
always  winding  its  way  upward  through  magnifi- 
cent native  forests.  There  are  great  kukui  trees 
with  leaves  like  the  maple,  but  larger  and  cream 
coloured  underneath;  huge  ferns  that  arch  their 
fronds  over  the  path ;  the  ie-ie  vine  with  its  yellow 
candles  surrounded  by  whorls  of  scarlet  leaves ; 
clumps  of  wild  bananas;  lehua  trees  with  their 
flowers  like  pink  flames;  shrubs  of  mokihana,  the 
berries  and  leaves  of  which    are    as    sweet    and 


128         HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

as  pungent  as  lavender.  At  last  the  path  emerges 
from  the  forest  on  to  a  knife-like  ridge  that  leads 
to  the  main  mountain  mass.  Here  one  looks  down 
a  dizzy  height  into  Nuuanu  on  one  side,  southward 
over  the  maze  of  hills  back  of  Tantalus,  and  on 
the  other  side  into  Manoa  Valley  and  the  distant 
round  crater  of  Diamond  Head.  Straight  ahead 
is  the  peak  of  Konahuanui,  a  hard  but  safe  climb 
of  an  hour,  with  no  clearly  defined  trail.  From 
Honolulu  to  the  foot  of  the  peak  and  back  would 
take  five  to  six  hours.  From  here  another  path 
leads  around  the  head  of  Manoa  Valley  to  Olympus 
and  so,  with  a  stiff  but  wonderful  climb,  down  the 
windward  side  of  the  range  into  Koolau.  This, 
trip,  returning  by  way  of  Nuuanu  Pali,  is  a  long 
day's  tramp.  Another  trail  branches  off  after 
passing  the  head  of  Manoa,  and  crossing  a  knife 
ridge — not  safe  for  those  unused  to  mountain 
climbing — leads  into  the  head  of  Palolo  Valley  and 
to  a  queer  little  crater,  overgrown  with  ferns, 
which  seems  lost  in  the  mountains.  From  here 
this  trail  turns  south  and  leads  along  the  ridge  to 
Kaimuki,  a  new  residence  section  back  of  Diamond 
Head.    The  round  trip  takes  about  nine  hours. 

These  are  only  a  few  of  hundreds  of  invigorat- 
ing walks,  but  are  the  only  ones  with  well-defined 
trails.  The  mountains  are  public  lands ;  there  is 
little  danger  of  getting  lost  or  of  running  into 
serious  difficulty,  unless  one  actually  attempts  to 


OAHU  129 

cross  the  range.  The  only  rule  when  in  doubt  as 
to  the  way  home  is  to  go  toward  the  sea — in  gen- 
eral southwestward — and  always  to  keep  on  top 
of  the  ridges.  This  may  mean  an  occasional  long 
detour,  but  the  valley  bottoms  are  almost  certain 
to  have  waterfalls  which  are  quite  impassable.  It 
is  always  a  temptation  to  go  down  into  the  valley, 
where  the  way  looks  easier,  but  it  means  invariably 
a  very  hard  climb  to  get  back  again  to  the  top 
of  the  ridge.  Although  the  greatest  altitude  is 
only  4,000  feet,  the  peaks  are  steep,  and  many 
of  them  give  real  mountain  work.  On  the  main 
range  these  peaks  are  usually  covered  with  ferns, 
vines,  and  tough  shrubs,  which  make  the  climbing 
easier  for  the  amateur,  but  not  safer,  because  he 
is  more  careless.  In  the  Waianae  Range  many  of 
the  points  are  of  bare  rock  that  is  a  test  for  the 
most  expert.  From  the  northeast  side  of  the 
Island  the  precipices  are  inaccessible,  except  in  a 
very  few  places,  but  from  any  point  on  the  south- 
ern and  western  sides  the  crest  of  the  range  can 
be  reached  by  walkers  who  are  willing  to  fight 
their  way  through  masses  of  undergrowth — an 
undertaking  safe  in  almost  no  other  tropical 
country.  For  the  strong  walker  the  fijeld  is,  there- 
fore, almost  inexhaustible. 

Aside  from  Honolulu  itself,  and  the  drives  in 
its  environs,  there  is  one  trip,  that  around  the 
Island  by  automobile,  which  should  not  be  missed 


130         HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

by  any  one  who  visits  the  Territory.  Omitting  the 
walks,  there  is  certainly  enough  to  fill  every 
moment  of  one's  time  for  a  week,  but  only  those 
who  stay  longer  and  who  are  willing  to  go  out  of 
the  beaten  track  can  realise  the  full  beauty  of 
Oahu  or  understand  its  charm. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

KAUAI 

Kauai,  the  most  northerly  island  of  the  group,  a 
steamer  trip  of  one  night  from  Honolulu,  has  an 
area  of  547  square  miles.  It  is  very  nearly  circu- 
lar, has  a  regular  shore  line,  without  important 
harbours,  and  is  made  up  of  the  mountain  mass  of 
Waialeale,  5,250  feet  high.  This  is  not,  however, 
a  great  dome  like  any  one  of  the  mountains  on 
Hawaii.  Kauai  is  geologically  the  oldest  of  the 
islands,  and  as  a  result  its  mountain  has  been 
cut  by  erosion  into  hundreds  of  separate  peaks 
and  valleys.  The  soil  washed  down  has  formed 
lowlands  near  the  shore,  except  on  the  northwest 
side,  where  there  are  great  sea  cliffs  of  naked  rock 
rising  to  a  height  of  2,000  feet.  The  west  central 
part  of  the  Island  is  an  enormous  bog,  so  nearly 
impassable  that  it  makes  the  ascent  of  the  central 
peak  extremely  difficult.  It  forms,  however,  an 
inexhaustible  watershed  for  the  southern  and 
southwestern  slopes.  Over  this  bog  there  is  usu- 
ally dense  fog — practically  the  only  fog  in  the 
Islands — a  characteristic  which  makes  exploration 
of  the  interior  even  more  difficult.  Indeed  very 
little  was  known  of  it  until  recently,  when  the 
181 


132         HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

plantations  penetrated  inland  in  search  of  a 
permanent  water  supply.  The  northern  part  of 
the  Island  is  very  rainy,  Hanalei  having  a  rain- 
fall equal  to  that  of  Hilo.  The  Island  used  to  be 
densely  wooded,  but  there  are  at  present  no  forests 
except  on  the  higher  mountain  slopes,  as  cattle 
first  destroyed  them  on  the  lowlands  and  the 
ground  has  since  been  appropriated  for  the  culti- 
vation of  sugar,  rice,  and  pineapples.  Abundant 
rainfall  or  water  supply,  combined  with  the  ex- 
treme fertility  of  the  soil,  keeps  everything  green, 
and  has  rightly  given  to  Kauai  the  name  of  the 
Garden  Island.  As  the  roads  are  excellent  and  the 
distances  short,  the  principal  points  of  interest 
can  be  covered  in  a  five-day  round  trip  from 
Honolulu,  a  trip  tremendously  worth  taking  by 
those  who  are  not  afraid  of  a  rough  night  at  sea. 
There  are  comfortable  hotels  at  Hanalei,  Lihue, 
and  Waimea. 

Landing  at  Waimea,  on  the  southwestern  side  of 
the  Island,  where  Captain  Cook  first  stepped  on 
Hawaiian  territory,  arrangements  can  readily  be 
made  for  seeing  the  Island.  Short  excursions  may 
be  taken  from  Waimea  itself  as  follows:  Fifteen 
miles  to  the  northwest,  over  a  good  road,  at  the 
extreme  western  point  of  the  Island,  are  a  line  of 
windblown  sand  hills  called  the  Barking  Sands. 
The  wind  on  the  sands  makes  them  rustle  like  silk ; 
to  slide  down  them  produces  a  sound  like  thunder 


KAUAI  133 

to  stamp  on  them  makes  them  cry  out  in  different 
cadences.  This  sand  is  a  natural  curiosity  exist- 
ing in  very  few  places,  and  is  amusing  to  grown 
people  as  well  as  to  children.  Near  the  sands,  at 
Polihale,  is  a  famous  old  Hawaiian  bathing  beach 
— one  of  the  "  lucky  places  " — which,  besides  being 
an  ideal  place  for  a  swim,  is  still  supposed  by  the 
natives  to  bring  special  good  fortune  to  all  who 
enter  the  water.  The  great  upland  plains  beyond, 
one  of  the  dryest  and  most  beautiful  spots  in  the 
Islands,  may  soon  be  set  aside  as  a  permanent  Gov- 
ernment reserve.  Another  trip,  which  takes  the 
better  part  of  a  day,  is  back  through  the  Waimea 
Gulch  as  far  as  Puukapele,  3,600  feet  high,  where 
is  obtained  the  best  view  of  the  surrounding  coun- 
try. This  valley,  originally  a  fissure  in  the  moun- 
tain, cuts  across  all  the  ridges  that  run  southwest 
from  the  central  mass  and  leads  far  into  the  in- 
terior of  the  Island.  The  trip,  which  must  be 
made  on  horseback,  leads  through  magnificent 
scenery,  between  the  mighty  walls  of  the  valley, 
which,  on  account  of  the  vivid  colourings  of  the 
rocks,  has  been  called  the  Grand  Caiion  of  the 
Colorado  in  miniature.  The  canon  part  of  the 
valley  is  3,000  feet  deep  and  about  a  mile  wide, 
the  sides  precipitous,  ending  in  sharp  peaks  and 
cut  by  grim  gorges.  In  the  decomposing  rocks 
the  colours  are  as  vivid  as  though  volcanic  fires 
were   still   at  work.     Another  excursion   of  six 


134         HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

miles,  which  can  be  made  by  carriage,  is  to  the 
Okolele  Ditch,  the  great  engineering  work  that 
revealed  the  Okolele  Canon,  the  existence  of  which 
was  barely  known  a  few  years  ago.  The  last  part 
of  the  ditch  is  a  six-mile  tunnel  carried  through 
the  precipices  on  the  sides  of  the  valley.  The 
road  which  leads  to  the  valley  only  allows  one  to 
look  down  into  the  canon,  with  its  bluffs  of  painted 
rock  rising  from  the  narrow,  twisting  gorge  at  the 
bottom.  This,  too,  is  suggestive  of  the  Grand 
Caiion,  except  for  the  trees  which  somehow  cling 
to  its  almost  perpendicular  sides  wherever  a 
crevice  gives  a  chance  for  their  roots  to  take  hold. 
At  Waimea  itself,  a  picturesquely  situated  village, 
which  used  to  be  the  capital  of  the  Island  and  had 
a  large  native  population,  there  is  little  of  particu- 
lar interest  except  the  ruins  of  the  Russian  fort 
on  the  headland  overlooking  the  harbour.  This 
was  built  in  1815  by  Russian  traders,  ostensibly 
for  the  King  of  Kauai,  but  over  it  flew  the  Russian 
flag,  and  it  was  undoubtedly  intended  as  the  first 
step  toward  annexation  of  the  Island  by  Russia. 

An  excellent  road  leads  from  Waimea  southeast- 
ward and  eastward  to  Lihue.  It  passes  first 
through  Makawele,  the  largest  plantation  in  the 
Island,  and  the  second  of  those  forming  a  belt 
around  it.  This  plantation  occupies  land  which 
was  originally  a  dry  plain,  but  water  was  brought 
from  the  Hanapepe  Valley  and  by  ditch  from  the 


KAUAI  1S5 

Okolele  Canon,  and  there  is  now  abundance  at  all 
seasons  of  the  year.  A  carriage  road  leads  five 
miles  into  the  Hanapepe  Valley,  and  an  easy  trail 
of  five  miles  more  brings  one  to  the  Falls,  which 
are  very  beautiful,  as  they  have  a  large  volume  of 
water  and  are  250  feet  high.  Beyond  Hanapepe 
the  main  road  turns  inland,  but  at  Lawai  a  branch 
road  leads  southeast  to  serve  the  pretty  little  vil- 
lage of  Koloa,  passing  first  through  the  eight  miles 
of  property  of  the  McBride  Sugar  Company. 
This  was  among  the  first  plantations  seriously 
to  introduce  small  homesteading  among  its  em- 
ployees. Part  of  the  uplands  back  of  the  planta- 
tion was  divided  into  five-acre  lots,  which  were 
assigned  to  European  immigrants  on  terms  of  very 
easy  payment.  These  homesteads,  on  which  pine- 
apples are  the  principal  crop,  are  cultivated 
largely  by  the  women  and  children,  while  father 
and  older  boys  work  in  the  plantation  fields.  In- 
deed, on  most  of  the  Kauai  plantations  this  plan 
of  homesteading,  or  some  form  of  co-operative 
labour,  has  been  tried  with  striking  success.  At 
the  Kilauea  Plantation,  on  the  north  side  of  the 
Island,  there  are  Portuguese  labourers  who  have 
been  connected  with  the  property  for  over  thirty 
years.  The  village  of  Koloa  is  in  itself  uninterest- 
ing, but  two  miles  from  it  is  the  Spouting  Horn, 
a  curious  rock  formation  on  the  shore,  where  the 
waves  rush  into  a  cave  and  force  intermittent  jets 


136         HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

of  water  high  into  the  air  through  a  narrow 
crevice  above  the  inner  end.  It  is  much  more 
active  than  are  most  spouting  horns,  and  is  a 
perpetual  fountain  well  worth  seeing.  The  Haupu, 
or  Hoary  Head  Ridge,  2,000  feet  high,  runs 
eastward  from  the  central  mountain  to  the  sea,  and 
the  end  of  it,  the  highest  point,  forms  a  bold 
promontory  rising  perpendicularly  out  of  the 
ocean  a  few  miles  south  of  Lihue.  This  ridge, 
which  was  formerly  part  of  the  backbone  of  the 
mountain,  has  been  intersected  by  erosion  and 
through  this  gap  runs  the  main  road  to  the  eastern 
side  of  the  Island. 

Lihue  itself,  twenty-six  miles  from  Waimea,  is 
the  county  seat.  The  town,  which  has  a  large 
German  settlement,  is  beautifully  situated  on  both 
banks  of  the  Nawiliwili  Gulch.  Back  of  it  is  a 
curious  tufa  cone,  the  Kilohana  crater,  which  was 
thrown  up  long  after  volcanic  activity  had  ceased, 
indeed  after  erosion  had  done  much  of  its  work. 
Material  ejected  from  this  crater  covered  the 
region  for  a  radius  of  several  miles,  so  that  streams 
had  to  make  new  channels  for  themselves,  flowing 
finally  into  the  rivers  to  the  north  and  to  the  south. 
From  this  cone,  which  is  easily  accessible  on  horse- 
back or  on  foot,  there  is  a  splendid  panorama  of 
ocean  and  mountain,  cultivated  field  and  forest,  of 
the  whole  lovely  plain  that  makes  the  east  side 
of  the  Island.     A  few  miles  north  of  Lihue  the 


KAUAI  137 

Wailua  Valley  is  noted  for  its  beautiful  water- 
falls, and  both  the  upper  and  lower  falls,  with 
their  surrounding  of  verdure-covered  crags,  well 
repay  the  horseback  trip  of  ten  miles  necessary 
to  visit  them.  The  lower  part  of  the  river  is 
navigable  for  small  boats,  and  canoe  trips  between 
its  banks,  that  are  overgrown  with  shrubs  and 
vines  to  the  edge  of  the  water,  are  always  popular 
with  residents  of  Lihue.  Perhaps  this  is  even  more 
so  since  the  drive  of  six  miles  to  the  mouth  of  the 
river  is  one  of  the  finest  of  the  many  marine  drives 
in  the  Islands. 

This  is  the  first  part  of  the  excellent  automobile 
road  that  follows  the  shore  for  thirty-four  miles 
to  Hanalei.  It  leads  northward  through  rice  fields 
and  plantations,  past  Anahola,  where  rugged,  in- 
accessible bluffs  meet  the  beating  of  waves  and 
the  strong  sweep  of  trade  winds  at  the  north- 
eastern comer  of  the  Island,  to  Kilauea,  and  then 
turns  westward,  following  the  northern  shore. 
Hanalei,  a  thriving  village,  is  one  of  the  most 
picturesque  spots  to  be  found  anywhere.  Like 
Waimea  and  Lihue,  it  may  be  reached  by  steamer 
direct  from  Honolulu,  and,  with  its  good  hotel,  is 
a  comfortable  centre  for  excursions.  From  the 
steamer  one  looks  up  the  broad,  fertile  valley  that 
extends  between  its  steep  boundaries  for  miles  back 
into  the  mountains.  Down  its  sides  fall  innumer- 
able silver,  thread-like  waterfalls,  that  now  disap- 


138         HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

pear  behind  thick  foliage,  now  leap  over  sheer 
precipices,  to  dissolve  in  mist  before  they  reach 
the  floor  of  the  valley.  Perhaps  the  loveliest  view, 
however,  is  that  looking  down  from  the  east  bank 
as  one  approaches  from  Lihue,  because  here  one 
gets  the  full  expanse  of  the  level  valley  bottom, 
with  its  broad  river,  the  largest  in  the  Islands, 
winding  serenely  between  fields  of  vivid  green 
rice,  between  little  clusters  of  Hawaiian  houses, 
where  the  natives  have  lived  for  generations  and 
still  live,  peacefully  unconscious  of  the  march  of 
civilisation,  of  the  turmoil  of  the  world  outside. 
One  overlooks  also  the  horseshoe  bay,  with  the 
ocean  beyond,  and  to  the  left  sees  deep  into  the 
verdure-covered  valleys,  over  the  ridges  to  the 
cloud-capped  mountain  in  the  distance.  At  Hana- 
lei  is  another  famous  bathing  beach,  and  for  those 
who  prefer  there  is  here  also  good  fresh-water 
swimming  in  the  river. 

A  beautiful  drive  westward  leads,  after  five 
miles,  to  the  mouth  of  the  glorious  Wainiha  Val- 
ley. Before  reaching  it,  however,  one  crosses,  on 
a  bridge,  the  stream  of  the  Lumahai  Valley.  This 
bridge  has  done  away  with  the  last  of  the  old 
ferries,  which  were  formerly  a  characteristic  fea- 
ture of  travel  on  Kauai.  It  is  a  region  of  legend. 
The  Waikoko  River — the  Water  of  Blood — recalls 
by  its  name  a  sanguinary  battle  of  ancient  times. 
The  Wainiha  Valley  is  one  of  the  finest  and  deepest 


KAUAI  1S9 

of  Hawaiian  canons.  It  cuts  into  the  mountain 
for  some  fifteen  miles,  almost  intersecting  the 
highest  point  of  the  Island  and  reaching  nearly 
to  the  head-waters  of  the  Okolele  and  Hanapepe 
streams,  which  flow  into  the  sea  on  the  other  side 
of  the  Island.  Toward  the  upper  part  of  Wainiha 
the  perpendicular  rock  walls  are  four  thousand 
and  more  feet  in  height.  Nowhere  in  the  Islands, 
except  in  west  Maui,  is  there  such  a  titanic  fissure 
in  the  mountains,  nowhere  more  stupendous  preci- 
pices. A  carriage  road  extends  two  miles  into  the 
valley  and  is  continued  for  several  miles  by  a 
trail  which  at  one  point  leads  up  the  western 
ridge  to  a  height  of  about  4,000  feet.  At  the  end 
of  the  carriage  road  is  the  station  of  the  Kauai 
Electric  Company,  which  sends  power  through  its 
wires,  strung  on  poles,  to  all  parts  of  the  Island. 
So  excellent  is  the  plant  that  electricity  is  used 
commercially  in  Kauai  to  a  far  greater  extent  than 
elsewhere  in  the  group,  many  of  the  pumping  sta- 
tions on  the  southern  shores  being  run  by  power 
from  Wainiha.  A  splendid  tramp  of  a  day  or  two 
may  be  taken  through  the  wildest  of  tropical  for- 
ests along  this  pole-line,  the  best  access  to  the 
trail  being,  however,  from  Lihue  on  the  southeast. 
Walkers  should  bear  in  mind  that  on  Kauai  it  is 
wise  always  to  keep  to  well-defined  trails  or  to  take 
a  guide,  since  the  formation  of  the  Island  is  such 
that  it  is  very  easy  to  get  lost.    Just  beyond  the 


140         HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

Wainiha  Valley,  and  reached  by  a  good  carriage 
road,  is  Haena  Point,  with  its  interesting  caves. 
They  are  at  sea  level  and  extend  for  a  long  dis- 
tance through  old  lava  channels  under  the  cliffs. 
One  is  filled  with  fresh  water.  The  rock  forma- 
tions of  the  sides  and  the  roofs  are  fantastic,  with 
their  queer  stalactites  and  their  rope-like  columns 
of  twisted  lava  that  might  almost  have  served  as 
models  for  the  columns  in  the  cloister  of  St.  Paul's 
outside  the  walls  of  Rome.  The  light  refracted 
through  the  water  is  wonderfully  softened  and 
coloured,  just  as  it  is  in  the  grottoes  at  Capri. 
In  one  of  the  caves  a  canoe  has  been  placed  for 
the  use  of  visitors.  The  carriage  road  extends 
only  a  mile  or  two  beyond  the  Point,  reaching 
then  the  wild,  precipitous,  and  little  explored 
section  of  the  Island  known  as  Napali. 

Here  the  cliffs,  in  places  over  2,000  feet  high, 
fall  sheer  into  the  sea,  leaving  not  a  vestige  even 
of  beach,  nor  a  pathway  along  the  water.  These 
cliffs  are  cut  by  innumerable  ragged  gorges,  which 
extend,  however,  only  a  short  distance  Inland,  end- 
ing abruptly  at  the  ridge  back  of  the  Wainiha 
Valley  and  a  little  further  south  at  that  back  of  the 
Waimea  Valley.  At  the  heads  of  these  gorges  are 
often  broad  basins,  like  little  craters,  and  along 
their  precipitous  sides  are  spires  of  rock  like  the 
needles  of  the  Alps,  both  the  effect  of  erosion. 
Toward  the  southern  part    of    this    region    the 


*   '   -   a  »  J   3 


KAUAI  141 

gorges  become  the  narrowest  of  canons,  entering 
the  sea  through  mere  slits  in  the  rocky  wall.  The 
Kalalau  Valley,  the  most  important  in  Napali,  and 
in  the  centre  of  the  section,  used  to  have  a  large, 
if  isolated,  population,  but  to-day  only  a  few  poor 
huts  are  left.  A  favourite  tramp  from  Hanalei  is 
along  the  shore  penetrating  Napali  as  far  as 
Hanakapiai.  Beyond  this  point  the  trail  is  very 
difficult,  but  runs  on,  up  and  down  across  the 
gorges  as  far  as  the  Kalalau  Valley.  From  here 
the  only  possible  way  to  continue  around  the 
Island  is  by  canoe  for  seven  or  eight  miles  to 
the  end  of  the  cliffs.  The  canoe  trip  of  twenty 
miles  along  the  whole  of  the  district  is  a  thrilling 
experience,  but  can,  of  course,  be  taken  only  in 
the  calmest  weather.  Occasionally  one  of  the 
inter-island  steamers  makes  the  circuit  of  Kauai, 
and  no  trip  in  the  Islands  can  show  finer  scenery. 
The  bluffs  and  canons  are  all  bare  of  vegetation 
near  the  sea — walls  and  towers  of  ancient  rock, 
awe-inspiring  in  their  majesty  and  in  their  soli- 
tude. They  are  of  lava,  weathered  by  the  ages 
into  grey  and  purple  and  yellow  and  orange.  In 
the  pockets  are  patches  of  bright  red  soil,  and  here 
and  there  huge  rocks  protrude  that  are  black  and 
glistening,  like  coal.  From  the  ocean  one  sees  back 
of  all  this  desolation  the  green  of  the  forests  and 
the  yellow  of  upland  grasses  half  hidden  in  the 
mountain  mists.     Napali  is  an  ideal  region  for 


142         HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

the  sportsman.  (A  shooting  permit  is  necessary 
and  should  be  obtained  in  Lihue.)  Wild  goats 
climb  over  all  the  ridges.  The  shores  swarm  with 
fish.  Camping  trips  are  always  practicable;  the 
natives  are  always  friendly,  willing  for  small  pay 
to  act  as  guides,  packers,  and  cooks.  The  district 
is  perhaps  the  wildest  in  the  Island,  as  little  known 
as  any,  magnificent  in  its  scenery,  which  is  so 
different  from  any  other,  so  insistently  suggestive 
of  solitude  and  of  remoteness  from  the  world,  that 
the  Hawaiians  have  invested  almost  every  part  of 
it  with  some  strange  legend  of  the  ancient  gods 
and  demigods. 

The  excellent  road,  already  ninety  miles  long,] 
which  is  planned  ultimately  to  circle  the  Island,  is 
still  broken  by  the  thirty  miles  and  more  of  the 
cliffs  and  gorges  of  Napali.  The  trip  around  the 
entire  Island  can  be  made  only,  therefore,  if  the 
sea  is  calm  enough  to  permit  of  a  long  canoe  trip, 
but  as  elsewhere  the  roads  are  excellent,  Kauai  is 
an  ideal  place  for  driving  and  motoring.  Regular! 
excursions  are  arranged  in  connection  with  the 
sailings  of  the  inter-island  steamers,  and  these  give 
a  good  impression  of  the  country.  The  climate  is 
so  pleasant,  however,  the  scenery  so  fine,  and  thej 
people  so  hospitable,  that  Kauai  is  the  best  of  thei 
Islands  for  camping  trips  and  it  is  only  by  getting 
back  into  the  mountains  that  one  comes  to  under- 
stand the  charm  of  the  old  Hawaiian  life,  to  realise 


KAUAI  143 

the  enthusiasm  of  Kauai  people  for  their  own 
land,  and  to  appreciate  the  name  they  have  given 
it  of  the  Garden  Island. 

The  little  island  of  Niihau,  a  part  of  the  county 
of  Kauai,  lying  seventeen  miles  west  of  the  larger 
island,  and  containing  97  square  miles,  is  a  private 
estate,  used  largely  for  ranching  purposes.  Only 
a  few  people  live  on  it  now,  but  it  must  have  been 
an  important  centre  of  population  in  1778,  as 
Captain  Cook's  ships  remained  there  for  several 
days  taking  on  water  and  provisions.  Niihau  is 
principally  known  to  the  outsider  to-day  for  the 
chains  made  from  tiny  white  shells  which  are  found 
on  the  beaches,  and  for  the  Niihau  mats.  The 
Hawaiians  braid  large  quantities  of  mats,  but 
none  are  so  soft  and  fine  as  those  made  from  the 
rushes  which  grow  in  the  marshes  of  this  insig- 
nificant island. 


CHAPTER  IX 

MOLOKAI   AND   MAUI 

The  channel  between  Oahu  and  Molokai  is  twenty- 
three  miles  wide.  Steamers  to  Maui  and  Hawaii 
cross  it  and  then  skirt  the  lee  shore  of  Molokai, 
which  is  an  island  forty  miles  long  and  only  ten 
wide.  This  lee  shore,  by  far  the  less  interesting, 
is  the  only  one  usually  seen  by  travellers.  One 
of  the  smaller  inter-island  steamers  leaves  Hono- 
lulu every  Tuesday  afternoon,  and,  after  calling 
at  all  the  ports  on  Molokai,  at  most  of  those  on 
the  south  side  of  Maui,  and  at  Lanai,  reaches 
Honolulu  again  on  Sunday  morning.  Fine  as  the 
scenery  on  this  trip  is,  however,  the  voyage  can 
be  recommended  only  to  those  for  whom  the  sea 
has  no  terrors,  as  for  a  good  part  of  the  time 
the  water  is  certain  to  be  rough  and  many  of  the 
landings  are  difficult.  There  is  much  on  Molokai 
that  is  of  real  interest,  but  there  are  no  hotels,  no 
good  carriage  roads,  so  that  the  only  practicable 
way  to  visit  it  is  on  a  camping  expedition.  For 
this  arrangements  must  be  made  in  Honolulu, 
where  shooting  permits  must  also  be  obtained. 
Hunting  is  excellent,  as  the  Island  is  full  of  deer. 
The  west  end  of  Molokai  is  comparatively  bar- 
144 


MOLOKAI  AND  MAUI  145 

ren,  being  in  general  occupied  by  ranches,  although 
near  the  shore  some  sisal  is  grown.  The  landing 
for  this  part  of  the  Island,  and  indeed  the  natural 
centre  for  all  excursions,  is  Kaunakakai,  a  dreary 
and  desolate  village  surrounded  by  dusty  and  with- 
ered scrub  algaroba.  The  east  end  of  the  Island  is 
fertile,  and  here  the  mountains  rise  to  a  height  of 
about  5,000  feet.  The  southern  shore  is  protected 
by  coral  reefs,  which  in  two  or  three  places  have 
formed  good  harbours.  Along  this  shore  fishing 
is  still  an  important  industry,  although  the  walls 
of  the  ancient  fish  ponds,  which  can  be  seen  from 
the  hills,  have  either  sunk  below  the  surface  of 
the  water  or  have  fallen  to  pieces.  Along  the 
north  shore  the  bluffs  drop  into  the  sea,  being 
especially  fine  on  the  northeastern  side,  where  a 
large  part  of  the  mountains  must  have  broken  off 
and  disappeared  in  the  ocean.  In  this  region,  in 
two  magnificent  valleys  accessible  only  from  the 
sea,  Pelekunu  and  Wailau,  there  are  settlements 
of  Hawaiians  who  live  much  as  they  used  to  live 
before  the  discovery  of  the  Islands.  They  even 
keep  many  of  the  ancient  traditions  which  are 
elsewhere  lost,  and  indeed  throughout  the  Island 
the  natives  are  inclined  to  be  superstitious.  The 
powerful  Poison  God,  saved  somehow  from  the 
burning  of  idols  in  1819,  was  kept  on  Molokai 
by  a  priest,  or  kahuna,  until  the  latter  part  of  the 
nineteenth  century.     The  power  of  this  god  to 


U6         HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

bring  sickness  and  death  has  never  been  satis- 
factorily explained.  It  probably  was  made — it 
may  still  be  in  existence — of  some  extremely 
poisonous  wood,  which  only  the  kahuna  knew  how 
to  handle  safely.  Certain  it  is  that  its  effects 
cannot  be  explained  as  the  result  only  of  the 
imagination.  In  these  lonely  valleys  the  natives 
make  a  living  by  raising  taro  for  the  Leper  Set- 
tlement. This  settlement,  which  gives  to  Molokai 
its  melancholy  celebrity,  is  on  a  triangle  of  land, 
made  probably  by  some  ancient  lava  flow,  which 
juts  into  the  sea  on  the  north  of  the  Island.  A 
steep  and  dangerous  path,  always  guarded,  leads 
up  the  bluff  behind  it,  and  is  the  only  means  of 
access  to  the  rest  of  the  Island.  The  lepers  carry 
on  a  certain  amount  of  agricultural  work  them- 
selves, but  are  really  supported  by  the  Govern- 
ment. Their  houses  are  comfortable ;  the  hospitals 
are  of  the  best;  everything  is  done  to  make  the 
unfortunate  people  happy.  The  Settlement  is 
very  pretty  as  one  sees  it  from  the  deck  of  a 
steamer  or  looks  down  on  it  from  the  hills,  but 
it  is  a  spot  too  sad  to  be  visited  by  any  but  medical 
men,  who  go  for  the  purpose  of  information.  For 
the  ordinary  traveller  it  is  a  place  to  avoid  as  he 
would  avoid  the  leprosarium  at  Panama  or  any- 
where else. 

To  the  hunter  Molokai  is  most  alluring.    Land- 
ing at  Kaunakakai,  he  makes  his  way  back  into 


MOLOKAI  AND  MAUI  147 

the  hills,  where  the  woodlands  are  charmingly 
interspersed  with  meadows,  where  the  climate  is 
soft  and  cool,  where  deer  are  so  plentiful  that  he 
is  sure  of  a  haunch  of  venison  to  roast  over  his 
camp  fire.  Or  else  he  goes  eastward,  where  the 
mountains  are  higher  and  the  gulches  more  pre- 
cipitous, where  wild  goats  scramble  over  the  high- 
est rocks  and  give  an  opportunity  for  really  skil- 
ful shooting.  From  these  peaks  the  views  are 
marvellous — the  rocky  coast  to  the  south,  with  its 
lines  of  ancient  fish  ponds  under  the  shallow 
water;  endless  cliffs  and  gorges  to  the  north,  in- 
accessible, tremendous ;  the  misty  mountains  of 
Oahu  to  the  northwest;  and  to  the  east  the  fine 
serrated  pile  of  west  Maui  across  a  narrow  blue- 
black  strip  of  water.  It  is  to  this  Island,  since 
Molokai  lacks  roads  and  inns,  that  the  traveller 
naturally  proceeds. 

Maui  is,  in  size,  the  second  island  of  the  group, 
containing  728  square  miles.  It  is  really  a  double 
island,  the  northwestern  and  much  smaller  part 
being  as  old  as  Oahu,  or  perhaps  as  Kauai,  and 
showing,  therefore,  great  erosion;  the  southeast- 
ern, comparatively  recent  part,  being  entirely 
taken  up  by  the  great  and  only  superficially 
eroded  dome  of  Haleakala.  These  two  parts  are 
connected  by  a  low  plain  or  isthmus,  formed  by 
lava  flows  from  the  east,  which  gradually  filled 
the    channel   that    originally    separated    the   two 


148         HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

islands.  On  this  low  plain  are  sand  dunes,  some- 
times 200  feet  high,  which,  before  the  plain  was 
cultivated,  used  to  move  slowly  across  from  north 
to  south  as  they  were  driven  by  the  wind.  The 
Island  has  a  population  of  25,000,  and  on  it  are 
some  of  the  most  important  of  the  Hawaiian 
plantations.  Industries  are  diversified  and  experi- 
ments with  new  crops  are  continually  being  made. 
There  is  already  extensive  pineapple  planting 
above  Haiku  on  the  northern  slope  of  Haleakala, 
and  in  the  region  to  the  east  large  rubber  planta- 
tions have  been  set  out.  There  is  no  carriage  road 
around  the  Island,  although  one  is  in  process  of 
construction,  and  some  of  the  finest  scenery  is, 
therefore,  accessible  only  on  horseback. 

The  first  landing  on  Maui  is  Lahaina,  an  open 
roadstead  on  the  west  coast,  which  is,  however, 
well  protected,  except  during  the  rare  Kona  or 
southwesterly  storms.  The  district,  although 
having  little  rainfall,  is  watered  by  streams  from 
the  high  mountains  behind.  The  village  of  La- 
haina, the  oldest  white  settlement  in  the  Islands, 
used  to  be  the  capital  of  the  group.  Its  prosperity 
was  due  to  the  fact  that  it  was  the  regular  port 
of  call  for  whaling  ships,  of  which  there  were 
sometimes  fifty  or  more  anchored  off  shore.  This 
prosperity  was,  however,  precarious,  and  brought 
with  it  disease  and  death,  since  the  sailors  were 
allowed  free  run  of  the  town  without  any  kind 


MOLOKAI  AND  MAUI  149 

of  supervision  on  the  part  of  the  ship  captains. 
It  was  here,  therefore,  that  the  most  acute  of 
the  troubles  occurred  when  the  King  promulgated 
laws  against  vice.  The  village  has  dwindled  away 
and  is  now  strung  out  along  the  shore,  most  of 
its  original  site  being  occupied  by  the  cane  fields 
of  the  Pioneer  Mill  Company.  Some  two  miles 
above  the  town  the  Lahainaluna  Seminary,  estab- 
lished in  1831,  still  maintains  its  position  among 
the  most  successful  of  the  Hawaiian  industrial 
schools.  The  deserted  missionary  home,  a  dingy 
white  in  its  grove  of  ancient  trees,  is  a  pathetic 
and  picturesque  landmark  of  elder  days.  Aside 
from  its  beautiful  situation  and  its  dry,  temperate 
climate,  there  is  little  to  detain  one  long  in 
Lahaina. 

Northward,  a  carriage  road  follows  the  shore 
to  Honolua,  where  there  is  a  large  cattle  ranch. 
The  scenery  along  this  road  is  fine,  with  mountains 
rising  ruggedly  at  the  right  and  the  blue  peaks  of 
Molokai  thrusting  themselves  up  from  the  water 
across  the  narrow  channel.  Beyond  the  end  of 
the  road,  as  one  nears  the  northern  point  of  the 
Island,  the  general  formation  of  the  cliffs  and 
valleys  is  something  like  that  of  the  Napali  sec- 
tion on  Kauai,  but  the  precipices  are  neither  as 
high  nor  as  vividly  coloured,  and  they  lack  the 
sense  of  remoteness  and  of  solitary  grandeur  which 
makes  Napali  unique.    Sometime  the  road  will  con- 


150         HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

tinue  around  to  Wailuku,  but  at  present  the  trip 
can  only  be  taken  on  horseback,  a  ride  of  about 
fifteen  miles  through  a  wild  country,  which  is  cut 
into  tremendous  gorges  and  crowned  with  innu- 
merable pinnacles  of  bare  rock.  The  regular  car- 
riage road  from  Lahaina  to  Wailuku,  a  distance 
of  twenty-three  miles,  leads  along  the  shore  to  the 
southeast.  After  passing  a  small  sugar  planta- 
tion, Oluwalu,  it  winds  along  high  above  the  sea, 
its  line  cut  in  the  face  of  the  steep,  barren  hills, 
climbs  the  shoulder  of  the  mountain — always  as 
near  the  ocean  as  possible — before  dropping  to 
the  isthmus  which  connects  the  two  parts  of  the 
Island.  The  view  from  the  top  of  this  shoulder 
is  magnificent.  Below  are  miles  of  level  country 
covered  by  the  cane  of  the  Hawaiian  Commercial 
Sugar  Company,  the  largest  sugar  plantation  in 
the  world.  The  extent  of  the  fields  makes  it  easy 
to  realise  that  the  Plantation  produces  60,000 
tons  of  sugar  every  year.  The  different  fields 
make  great  blotches  of  different  shades  of  green, 
those  in  flower  of  a  mauve  grey.  The  huge  mill 
sends  out  its  streamers  of  black  smoke.  Immedi- 
ately to  the  right  and  far  to  the  left  is  the  ocean ; 
unruffled,  its  colours  melting  into  each  other 
insensibly  off  the  southern  shore;  deep  blue  with 
specks  of  white  off  the  northern.  And  straight 
ahead,  back  of  the  cultivated  fields,  in  a  long,  bare, 
upward    sweep,    rises    the    stupendous    dome    of 


MOLOKAI  AND  MAUI  151 

Haleakala,  "  the  house  built  by  the  sun,"  10,000 
feet  high,  its  summit  floating  blue  and  immeasu- 
rably calm  above  the  little  industries  of  men,  above 
the  encircling  ring  of  clouds.  It  is  the  first  sight 
of  a  really  great  Hawaiian  mountain.  From  here 
to  Wailuku  the  road  leads  through  the  cane  fields 
across  the  level  plain — a  plain  that  seems  like  a 
broad  highway  leading  between  endless  mountain 
masses  from  the  southern  to  the  northern  ocean. 

In  a  battle  near  Wailuku,  which  is  now  an 
attractive  town  of  some  3,000  inhabitants,  Kame- 
hameha  completed  the  conquest  of  Maui.  It  is 
said  that  the  waters  of  the  stream  flowing  from 
lao  Valley  back  of  the  town  were  so  stained  with 
blood  that  their  course  could  be  marked  far  out 
to  sea — hence  the  name  Wailuku,  or  "  red  water." 
The  town  is  now  the  county  seat.  It  is  a  pleasant 
place  to  stay  in,  principally  because  of  its  situa- 
tion, with  the  rugged  mountains  of  west  Maui 
behind  it  and  in  front  Haleakala  looming  up 
across  the  plain.  In  its  way  lao  Valley,  reached 
by  a  drive  of  a  few  miles,  is  quite  as  fine  as  the 
Yosemite.  Its  perpendicular  walls  are  as  high 
and  give  the  impression  of  being  even  higher, 
since  the  floor  is  narrower.  Unlike  most  Hawaiian 
gulches,  lao,  after  the  narrow  entrance  is  passed, 
broadens  into  an  amphitheatre,  the  sides  of  which 
are  broken  with  great  rock  bastions,  ridges  that 
spring  from  the  sides   of  the  mountain.     These 


152         HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

precipices  are  thickly  wooded  with  trees  and 
shrubs  of  every  imaginable  shade.  At  the  head 
of  the  valley,  to  the  right,  the  massive  peak  of 
Puu  Kukui,  5,780  feet  high,  dominates  all  the 
lower  spires  and  domes.  Here,  surrounded  by 
inaccessible  mountain  walls,  one  gets  again,  as  so 
often  in  the  Islands,  a  sudden  sense  of  complete 
isolation.  It  seems  impossible  that  a  few  miles 
of  macadam  road  lead  back  to  civilisation.  The 
only  reality  is  the  encircling  precipices.  Even 
to  speak  seems  an  intrusion  on  the  silence  of  this 
predestined  solitude,  and  the  shriek  of  an  auto- 
mobile horn  is  an  abomination.  In  lao  also  the 
feeling  of  being  on  an  island  is  gone.  It  is  far 
m-ore  as  though  one  had  penetrated  some  beautiful 
and  lonely  mountain  range  in  the  middle  of  a  con- 
tinent. Indeed,  the  traveller  who  has  been  so 
far  afield  will  find  that  it  recalls  insistently  one 
of  the  beautiful  valleys  back  of  Kutais  on  the 
warm,  southern  slope  of  the  Caucasus. 

High  on  the  ridge  back  of  Puu  Kukui,  between 
the  Waihee  and  Honokahau  valleys — the  former 
is  as  beautiful  as  lao,  but  not  so  easy  of 
access — is  a  very  tiny  but  perfect  crater.  Eke, 
by  name.  It  was  originally,  of  course,  at  the 
top  of  a  mountain,  but  the  winds  and  rains  of 
thousands  of  years  have  carried  away  most  of  its 
support,  so  that  it  hangs  now  in  mid-air,  sus- 
pended on  its  narrow  ridge,  a  position  probably 


MOLOKAI  AND  MAUI  153 

unique  for  a  crater.  So  steep  are  the  walls  which 
support  it,  so  tangled  with  tropical  growth  the 
lower  ridges,  that  only  one  white  man  has  ever 
succeeded  in  reaching  its  rim.  And  this  is  but  a 
sample  of  the  climbing  in  the  west  Maui  moun- 
tains, with  their  tempting  peaks,  each  with  its 
glorious  view — all  baffling  except  to  the  most  ex- 
pert because  of  their  matted  vegetation  and  of  the 
angle  at  which  they  shoot  into  the  air.  Nothing 
anywhere  could  surpass  the  outlook  from  the  top 
of  Puu  Kukui,  with  superb  gorges  running  on  all 
sides  to  its  base,  with  the  mighty  dome  of  Halea- 
kala  in  the  distance  and  all  around  the  blue-black 
ocean. 

The  landing  for  Wailuku,  about  four  miles  to 
the  east,  is  Kahului,  a  flourishing  village  that  has, 
however,  much  of  the  raw  newness  of  a  Western 
mining  town.  It  is  the  port  of  shipment  for 
sugar  from  the  Hawaiian  Commercial  and  other 
plantations,  and  behind  its  breakwater  the  largest 
steamers  can  find  safe  anchorage.  It  is  the  neces- 
sary starting  point  for  a  trip  to  east  Maui,  and 
for  the  incomparably  interesting  excursion  to  the 
top  of  Haleakala,  with  its  huge  extinct  crater. 
The  ascent  of  the  mountain,  with  the  return  trip, 
takes  two  days,  not  including  the  descent  into  the 
crater.  The  distance  to  the  summit  from  Paia, 
the  eastern  terminus  of  the  Kahului  Railroad,  is 
about  twenty-two  miles.    The  first  seven  miles,  to 


154         HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

Makawao,  a  pretty  village  at  an  elevation  of  1,500 
feet,  and  the  social  centre  of  the  district,  is  done 
by  carriage  or  automobile.  It  is  possible,  at  extra 
expense,  to  continue  in  the  same  way  to  Idlewilde, 
which,  in  spite  of  its  name,  is  a  delightful  spot 
4,500  feet  above  sea  level.  From  here  it  is  neces- 
sary to  continue  the  ascent  on  horseback.  Here 
a  stop  is  made  for  luncheon  or  supper,  as  the  case 
may  be;  here  refreshments  are  provided  for  use 
on  the  mountain  top,  and  costumes  and  blankets 
for  the  trip  may  be  rented  if  necessary.  Warm 
clothing  and  overcoats  are  essential,  as  it  is  often 
very  cold,  and  ladies,  who  are  required  to  ride 
astride,  should  also  be  provided  with  short  skirts 
and  leggings,  or  divided  skirts.  At  the  summit  is 
only  a  rough  shelter,  a  house  to  keep  off  the  rain, 
and  where  those  who  can  sleep  without  beds  may 
sleep,  while  others  wait  more  or  less  patiently  for 
dawn.  Since  no  one  lives  here,  all  food  and  com- 
forts must  be  carried  from  below.  On  the  regular 
excursions  they  are  provided  as  a  matter  of  course. 
The  steep  horseback  climb  from  Idlewilde,  across 
great  upward-swinging  plains,  past  herds  of  cat- 
tle that  recognise  men  as  men  only  when  they  are 
on  horseback,  and  would  probably  prove  trouble- 
some to  the  pedestrian,  is  interesting  principally 
because  one  more  and  more  realises  the  altitude. 
The  cultivated  fields  below  shrink,  and  at  the  same 
time  the  ocean  spreads  wider  and  wider  and  always 


MOLOKAI  AND  MAUI  155 

more  definitely  blue.  Or,  if  it  is  night — and  most 
people  make  the  ascent  by  night,  so  that  sunrise 
may  not  be  too  many  long  hours  away — the  land 
is  an  indistinguishable  grey,  and  the  ocean  is  jet 
black,  and  overhead  the  stars  seem  very  many 
and  very  near.  In  the  vast  silence,  so  different 
in  quality  from  the  troubled  silence  of  the  low- 
lands, one  can  almost  hear  the  crisp  rustle  of  their 
sparkling.  It  is  no  wonder  that  so  many  Oriental 
monasteries  are  built  high  on  the  mountains  of 
Asia  Minor.  Lofty  solitudes  seem  always  most 
open  to  celestial  influences,  and  perhaps  it  was 
with  the  consciousness  of  the  near  presence  of  the 
gods  that  the  Hawaiians  named  this  mountain  not 
Haleokala,  "house  of  the  sun,"  but  Haleakala, 
"  house  built  by  the  sun,"  thus  making  the  sun 
god's  connection  with  it  more  intimate. 

On  a  dark  night  the  summit  of  the  mountain  is 
merely  the  end  of  rising  ground — or  more  than 
that,  the  end  of  everything,  since  straight  ahead 
yawns  a  pit,  which  is  the  crater.  Nor  by  moon- 
light is  it  satisfactory,  since  the  indistinct  out- 
lines only  make  one  long  to  see  more.  In  general 
it  may  be  said  that,  except  to  the  imagination  of 
poets,  mountains  by  moonlight,  unless  they  are 
snow  mountains  and  are  very  near,  are  disappoint- 
ing. It  is  true  that  here  on  Haleakala  the  moon 
seems  to  hang  lower  and  to  be  more  silvery  than 
anywhere  else,  but  its  brightness  brings  out  clearly 


156         HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

only  the  hut  and  the  rocks  that  are  close  at  hand. 
The  proper  thing  to  do  is  to  build  a  fire  and  to 
persuade  the  guide  to  tell  stories  of  the  mountain 
— stories,  it  may  be,  of  quite  modern  experiences, 
of  hunting  and  camping  in  the  crater,  or  of  the 
rescue  of  foolish  strangers  who  try  to  find  paths 
up  the  rocky  walls  and  are  marooned  on  treacher- 
ous landslides ;  or,  perhaps,  if  the  guide  is  Ha- 
waiian, of  some  of  the  elder,  legendary  history, 
of  the  time  when  the  fire  goddess  Pele  broke 
through  the  wall  of  the  crater  at  the  great  Koolau 
gap  and  fled  from  Maui  forever,  across  the  water 
to  Hawaii.  And  then  it  is  wise  to  try  to  sleep 
until  the  sunrise.     // 

Dawn  comes  quickly  in  the  tropics,  and  even 
more  quickly  on  a  mountain  top.  When  the  first 
faint  light  appears  the  party  takes  its  position 
at  the  edge  of  the  crater.  The  stars  grow  pale, 
as  though  they  were  strewing  their  own  bright- 
ness over  all  the  sky.  Then  the  light  reaches 
downward  and  is  reflected  from  below,  from  the 
upper  surfaces  of  cloudbanks  that  were  invisible 
a  moment  before.  They  shine  whiter  and  whiter, 
revealing  black  chasms  that  cut  across  them.  And 
then,  as  there  comes  a  hint  of  safi^ron  in  the  sky, 
what  seem  three  more  lofty  clouds  to  the  south- 
east take  on  solidity  with  their  morning  colours 
and  resolve  themselves  into  the  three  dome-like 
mountains  of  Hawaii.    The  black  rim  of  water  at 


MOLOKAI  AND  MAUI  157 

the  eastern  edge  of  the  world  grows  sharper  as 
the  green  and  red  behind  become  more  intense ;  the 
tips  of  the  Hawaii  mountains  first  gleam  golden 
in  the  sunlight,  and  then  suddenly  the  sun  itself 
springs  over  the  horizon,  and  all  the  colours  of  the 
cloud  tops  vanish  in  white  daylight.  But  far  below 
it  is  still  night.  The  ocean,  except  to  the  east,  is 
still  black  through  the  cloud  rifts.  The  fields 
below  are  still  dark,  and  the  west  Maui  mountains 
are  sombre.  There  is  something  unreal  and  very 
wonderful  in  standing  thus  in  the  golden  light 
above  the  clouds,  above  the  world  asleep,  alone 
with  the  beautiful  snow-capped  Hawaii  mountains 
that  surge  high  above  the  surf -like  clouds  across 
the  channel.  Then  as  the  light  glides  down  the 
mountain,  picking  out  forests  and  fields  and  vil- 
lages, and  turning  the  black  sea  blue,  as  the  hori- 
zon, that  is  the  rim  of  a  great  bowl,  pales,  and 
fuses  at  last  in  the  misty  sky,  one  turns  to  look 
at  the  wonder  near  at  hand,  at  the  vast  crater 
at  one's  feet. 

The  extinct  crater  of  Haleakala  is  20  miles  in 
circumference,  7  1-2  miles  long,  and  2  1-3  miles 
wide.  Where  one  stands,  in  front  of  the  rest  house, 
there  is  an  almost  perpendicular  drop  of  2,000 
feet  to  the  floor  of  the  ancient  volcano.  The 
apparently  tiny  cones  at  the  bottom  are,  in  reality, 
good-sized  hills,  one  of  them  700  feet  high.  This 
crater  is  by  far  the  largest  in  the  world.    Except 


158         HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

for  the  still  active  crater  on  Mauna  Loa,  Hawaii, 
Haleakala  is  the  only  intact  summit  crater  in  the 
Islands.  In  all  other  cases  such  craters  were  prob- 
ably filled  to  the  brim  by  the  final  volcanic  activity, 
and  subsequent  erosion  has  completely  done  away 
with  all  semblance  of  the  original  form.  On 
Maui,  however,  some  great  geological  fault  caused 
the  sides  of  the  mountain  in  two  places  to  slip 
into  the  sea,  leaving  two  huge  gaps  in  the  rim  of 
the  crater,  through  which  the  last  lava  flowed 
away,  instead  of  piling  itself  up  and  up  until  it 
filled  the  bowl. 

Most  travellers  will  be  satisfied  with  the  view 
into  the  crater.  For  those  who  wish  to  descend, 
a  trip  necessitating  a  day  and  comfortably  filling 
two  days,  there  is  a  difficult  trail  of  about  three 
miles  along  the  rim,  which  is  continued,  by  an 
easy  trail,  into  the  crater.  The  floor  is  covered 
with  lava  sand  and  is  practically  bare  of  vegeta- 
tion, except  at  the  eastern  end,  where  there  is  a 
low  growth  of  trees.  There  are  almost  no  signs 
of  erosion,  since  it  seldom  rains  at  this  altitude. 
Scattered  throughout  the  crater  are  many  silver 
swords  (Argyroxiphium),  a  kind  of  plant  found 
nowhere  else.  They  are  polished  silver  in  colour, 
looking  like  rosettes  of  long,  thin  swords,  growing 
three  or  four  feet  high  and  bearing  panicles  of 
flowers  something  like  a  yucca.  The  leaves  last 
indefinitely.    On  the  floor  of  the  crater  the  evenly 


MOLOKAI  AND  MAUI  159 

formed  cones  are  interesting,  thirteen  in  all,  seven 
of  them  sand  hills.  There  is  a  so-called  bottom- 
less pit  which  is  an  ancient  blowhole;  a  natural 
bridge  across  a  fissure  which  marked  one  of  the 
eruptions;  there  are  many  tiny  craters;  curious 
lava  and  crystalline  formations.  But  above  all 
there  is  the  impressive  magnitude  of  the  whole — 
the  stupendous  walls,  broken  in  places  by  land- 
slides, the  miles  of  rolling  desert  country  that  seem 
rather  to  be  at  the  bottom  of  some  great  Sahara 
valley  than  to  be  the  floor  of  a  volcano.  Haleakala 
must  have  been  awe-inspiring  almost  to  stupefac- 
tion when  its  cones  were  spouting  fire  and  when 
rivers  of  scarlet,  molten  lava  crawled  along  its 
floor.  It  is  quite  as  superb  in  the  desolation  of 
its  death. 

From  Paia,  where  one  leaves  the  railroad  to 
make  the  ascent  of  Haleakala,  another  most  inter- 
esting excursion  is  to  the  eastward,  along  the  north 
side  of  the  Island,  through  a  region  which  was 
almost  impenetrable  until  the  recent  opening  of  a 
long  irrigation  ditch.  The  distance  from  Paia  to 
Hana,  at  the  eastern  end  of  Maui,  is  forty-seven 
miles,  a  good  two  days'  trip,  although  the  first 
eighteen  or  twenty  miles  may  be  made  by  car- 
riage. There  is  then  a  horseback  trail  of  a  few 
miles,  once  more  two  or  three  miles  of  good  road, 
then  another  trail  for  a  few  miles  which  connects 
with  the  road  running  around  the  eastern  end  of 


160         HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

the  Island.  After  leaving  Paia  the  road  passes 
through  the  rich,  rolling  country  of  Haiku,  thickly 
planted  with  pineapples.  Beyond  Puelo  there  is 
an  excellent  paved  trail  following  the  line  of  the 
ditch  through  the  wild  jungle  of  this,  the  wettest 
part  of  the  Island.  It  winds  in  and  out,  always 
at  an  elevation  of  from  1,000  to  2,000  feet,  follow- 
ing the  contours  of  the  ragged  gulches  which  cut 
into  the  mountain  from  the  sea.  Often  it  is 
actually  blasted  out  of  the  sides  of  precipices 
where  one  looks  down  a  sheer  1,000  feet  to  the 
valley  bottoms,  with  the  sea  beyond.  The  Kaenae 
Valley,  inhabited  only  by  Hawaiians  and,  until  the 
trail  was  built,  accessible  only  from  the  sea,  leads 
up  into  the  Koolau  gap  and  into  the  crater  of 
Haleakala.  The  ascent  is  gradual,  leading 
through  magnificent  scenery  and  splendid,  un- 
touched native  forests.  On  either  side  of  the  gap, 
at  the  entrance  to  the  crater,  the  precipices  tower 
ruggedly  hundreds  of  feet  into  the  air,  forming 
the  stately  gateway  through  which  the  Fire  God- 
dess left  her  ancient  home.  A  few  miles  beyond 
this  valley  the  trail,  still  winding  along  the  preci- 
pices and  crossing  the  gulches  at  their  narrow 
upper  ends,  always  through  beautiful  tropical 
growth,  reaches  Nahiku,  the  centre  of  the  new 
Hawaiian  rubber  industry.  From  here  around 
the  eastern  end  of  the  Island  there  is  a  good  car- 
riage  road,  part   of  It   following  the  line   of  a 


•      ••••••       *• 


MOLOKAI  AND  MAUI  161 

paved  road  built  by  the  kings  of  Maui  in  the  six- 
teenth century.  The  village  of  Hana  at  the  east- 
ern point  is  situated  on  a  charming  little  bay 
protected  by  two  headlands.  That  to  the  south, 
Kauiki  Head,  is  an  ancient  crater  and  was  a 
famous  fort  in  olden  times.  When  Kamehameha 
invaded  Maui  this  stronghold  withstood  his  at- 
tacks for  two  years,  long  after  the  rest  of  the 
Island  had  been  subjugated.  Beyond  Hana  the 
road  extends  south  and  west  for  a  few  miles  only, 
and  a  rough  trail  leads  around  the  southern  slope 
of  the  mountain  to  Makena  landing.  The  country 
here  is  protected  from  the  trade  winds,  and  the 
plains,  little  cut  by  streams  and  rising  more  steeply 
than  on  the  northern  slopes,  are  used  only  for 
grazing  purposes.  The  ranchers  have  a  trail 
which  leads  upwards  through  the  abrupt  Kaupo 
gap,  the  break  in  the  southern  wall  of  the  mighty 
summit  crater. 

Makena,  except  for  the  queer  little  crescent- 
shaped  island  of  Molokini,  the  remains  of  a  tiny 
volcano  a  mile  or  two  off  shore,  is  a  place  of  no 
interest,  but  the  road  connecting  it  with  Makawao 
and  the  northern  slopes  of  east  Maui,  and  with 
Kahului  on  the  isthmus,  leads  through  the  beauti- 
ful district  of  Kula,  across  the  great  western 
shoulder  of  Haleakala.  This  Kula  district,  high, 
with  only  a  moderate  rainfall,  but  with  very  rich 
soil,  is   an   excellent   farming  region   and   has   a 


162         HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

climate  as  nearly  perfect  as  one  could  wish.  Peo- 
ple are  beginning  to  build  on  these  cool,  beautiful 
uplands,  where  the  air  is  pure  and  delicious,  where 
there  are  no  high  winds,  where  flowers  and  vege- 
tables and  trees  of  every  kind  can  be  raised  with 
almost  no  care,  and  where  society,  centering  about 
the  village  of  Makawao  to  the  northward,  is  made 
up  of  intelligent,  well-informed  people.  If  there 
were  only  a  hotel,  as  there  must  be  sometime,  the 
region  would  surpass  all  other  parts  of  the  Islands 
as  a  place  for  a  summer  holiday. 

Maui,  with  its  extremely  rugged  western  end, 
and  its  dome-like  eastern  end,  is  an  island  with 
perhaps  more  diversity  of  scenery  than  any  of 
the  others.  It  is  easily  accessible.  At  Lahaina 
and  Wailuku,  the  latter  being  the  natural  centre 
for  excursions,  there  are  good  hotels.  lao  Valley, 
with  its  canon-like  walls,  its  marvellous  colours, 
and  its  lonely  sublimity,  would  be  worth  the  effort 
necessary  to  visit  the  Island  if  there  were  nothing 
else  to  see.  The  extinct  crater  of  Haleakala, 
unique  in  its  desolate,  dead  magnificence,  and  the 
glorious  view  of  the  Hawaii  mountains  across  the 
clouds  as  the  sunlight  touches  them  in  the  early 
morning,  is  a  sight  memorable  to  the  most  hard- 
ened and  unemotional  of  men.  It  is  one  of  those 
great,  amazing  experiences  of  life  which  can  no 
more  be  described  than  they  can  be  forgotten. 
Even  the  wonder  of  Kilauea  is  surpassed  by  the 


MOLOKAI  AND  MAUI  163 

wonder  of  this  mighty  crater,  in  which  Vesuvius 
would  be  only  a  deeper  depression,  barren,  alone, 
and  eternally  silent  in  the  high  quiet  spaces  on  the 
summit  of  its  huge  mountain.  It  dominates  Maui, 
makes  of  it  a  land  of  inexpressible  fascination. 

Two  small  islands  to  the  south  are  of  little  or 
no  interest.  Lanai,  opposite  Lahaina,  with  an 
area  of  139  square  miles,  is  a  single  cone  3,400 
feet  high.  On  it  are  springs,  one  running  stream, 
and  some  low  forest  growth,  but  no  cultivation. 
The  Island  is  given  over  to  cattle  and  sheep 
ranches.  Kahoolawe,  off  Makena,  covers  69  square 
miles  and  is  entirely  surrounded  by  low  cliffs.  It 
is  almost  barren,  supporting  only  a  few  sheep  and 
cattle,  and  the  herdsmen  are  its  only  inhabitants. 
These  little  islands  would  not  be  worth  mention 
except  that  one  likes  to  know  their  names  as  the 
steamer  passes  between  them  and  Maui  on  its 
way  to  Hawaii. 


CHAPTER  X 

HAWAU 

Larger  than  all  the  other  Islands  together,  the 
youngest  geologically,  Hawaii  consists  of  three 
huge,  gently  rising  mountains,  connected  by  a  high 
plateau.  Except  at  the  northern  end,  therefore, 
where  the  Kohala  Range  juts  out  from  the  mass 
of  the  Island,  the  scenery  is  of  a  very  different 
character  from  that  of  the  islands  to  the  north- 
west, comparing  in  general  outlines  only  to  the 
vast  eastern  end  of  Maui.  The  Island,  a  little 
smaller  than  the  State  of  Connecticut,  and  dis- 
tinctly larger  than  Porto  Rico,  covers  4,015 
square  miles.  As  the  three  great  mountains, 
Mauna  Kea,  Mauna  Loa,  and  Hualalai,  rise,  re- 
spectively, 13,825  feet,  13,675  feet,  and  8,269  feet, 
the  climate  ranges  from  sultry  tropical  heat  near 
the  shore  (notably  in  the  district  of  Puna) 
through  all  gradations  of  temperature  to  what  is 
nearly  perpetual  snow.  In  winter  the  snow  comes 
well  down  the  two  higher  mountains ;  in  summer  it 
is  permanent  only  in  sheltered  nooks  near  their 
summits.  The  Island  has  a  population  of  55,382, 
and  settlements  are  numerous  in  all  parts  except 
in  the  southeast  and  on  the  upland  plains. 
164 


HAWAII  165 

There  are  two  ways  of  reaching  Hawaii  from 
Honolulu — either  by  steamers  of  the  Inter-Island 
Steamship  Company  to  Hilo,  or  to  the  Kona  and 
Kau  ports  on  the  lee  side  of  the  Island ;  or  by  the 
larger  ships  of  the  Matson  Navigation  Company, 
which  ply  between  San  Francisco  and  Honolulu, 
making  a  side  trip  to  Hawaii  about  twice  a  month. 
The  Inter-Island  boats  sail  twice  a  week  to  Hilo 
and  once  a  week  to  Kona  and  Kau,  and  are, 
therefore,  more  likely  to  fit  conveniently  into  the 
traveller's  itinerary. 

Steamers  for  Hilo  usually  touch  first  in  Hawaii 
at  Kawaihae,  near  the  northern  part  of  the  west 
coast,  a  forlorn  village,  barren,  windswept, 
so  dusty  that  it  is  often  unpleasant,  because 
of  the  dust  in  the  air,  to  stand  on  the 
deck  toward  the  shore,  even  though  the  steamer 
lies  a  half-mile  from  the  landing.  But  some- 
times in  the'  early  morning  or  late  afternoon 
the  view  of  two  of  the  great  mountains  is  mag- 
nificent— Mauna  Kea  thrusting  its  snow-capped 
peak  over  the  red  plains,  and  nearer  the 
barren  mass  of  Hualalai  scarred  with  black  lava 
flows,  its  green  base  blotched  with  the  darker  shade 
of  shrubbery  and  low  trees.  Mahukona,  a  few 
miles  to  the  north,  the  landing  for  Kohala,  is 
equally  barren,  and  with  its  dingy  warehouses 
looks  even  more  dreary  than  do  the  red  plains  back 
of  Kawaihae.     A  short  railroad  runs  from  this 


166         HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

landing  to  Kohala,  but  the  steamers  do  not  now 
stop  long  enough  for  passengers  to  make  the  trip. 
Except  in  the  rare  southwesterly  or  westerly 
storms,  these  landings  are  always  smooth.  The 
wind  from  the  land  seems  sometimes  to  blow  even 
the  ripples  from  the  surface  of  the  sea.  It  is  a 
short  relief,  however,  as  the  steamer  proceeds  im- 
mediately around  the  north  point  of  the  Island 
and  along  the  windward  coast,  where  the  water  is 
usually  boisterous.  Here  the  scenery  is  very  won- 
derful. Waipio  Valley  with  its  broad  mouth  and 
its  precipitous  sides,  and  the  other  valleys  near 
it  almost  as  impressive,  is  succeeded  by  cliffs  reach- 
ing in  a  line,  broken  only  by  the  gulches,  for  forty 
miles.  These  cliffs  rising  directly  from  the  sea 
are  covered  with  verdure,  and  over  them  at  short 
intervals  tumble  lovely  waterfalls.  Behind  them  is 
the  pale  green  carpet  of  sugar  cane  stretching 
back  to  the  forest  belt,  that  in  its  turn  gives  place 
to  the  bare  uplands  which  are  dominated  by  the 
snowy  crest  of  Mauna  Kea.  The  cliffs  give  way 
only  when  the  ship  reaches  Hilo  Bay — Hilo,  or 
the  "  new  moon,"  so  called  from  the  long  crescent 
of  the  bay.  The  Inter-Island  steamers  go  to  a 
dock,  and  larger  vessels  anchor  outside  in  calm 
water,  which  assures  an  easy  landing  in  small 
boats.  New  docks  at  present  building  will  give 
berths  for  all  steamers. 

Hilo,  the   chief  city  of  Hawaii,  is  a  town  of 


HAWAII  167 

about  7,000  inhabitants.  It  is  the  distributing 
centre  for  the  districts  of  Hilo  and  Puna.  From 
here  the  sugar  produced  along  the  coast  is  sent 
direct  to  San  Francisco  and  New  York.  Beauti- 
fully situated  on  its  broad,  smooth  bay,  with  the 
two  superb  mountains  of  Mauna  Loa  and  Mauna 
Kea  as  background,  with  a  richness  of  tropical 
vegetation  unknown  in  Honolulu,  it  deserves  a 
longer  visit  than  the  two  or  three  hours  usually 
given  to  it.  People  who  are  jealous  of  Hilo  say 
that  it  rains  there  eight  days  in  the  week  and 
five  weeks  in  the  month,  and  indeed  there  are  never 
many  successive  clear  days.  But  as  compensation 
there  is  little  dust  in  Hilo,  and  the  variety  and 
luxuriance  of  foliage  and  flowers  are  a  delight.  The 
old  white  court-house,  almost  hidden  in  a  grove 
of  huge  trees,  is  wonderfully  picturesque.  Private 
houses  are  almost  invisible  behind  their  crowded 
gardens.  There  is  a  charming  park  where  band 
concerts  are  often  held,  but  for  recreation  people 
go  to  Cocoanut  Island  in  the  bay.  On  its  rocky 
shores  the  surf -bathing  is  wonderful,  and  one  dives 
into  the  water  and  swims  about  under  the  cocoanut 
trees  that  seem  to  stretch  out  over  the  water  to 
get  breathing  space,  so  crowded  is  the  little  island. 
A  mile  back  from  the  town  Rainbow  Fall  breaks 
from  a  mass  of  trees  and  ferns  to  fall  eighty  feet 
into  a  dark  cave  pool,  from  which  it  rushes,  in 
foam  and  spray,  between  high,  rocky  walls  that 


168         HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

are  always  draped  with  morning-glories.  It  is 
almost  a  miniature  replica  of  the  great  fall  at 
Tivoli.  In  the  sunshine  it  seems  literally  gar- 
landed with  rainbows.  Another  drive,  of  six  miles, 
northward  along  the  coast,  takes  one  through  cane 
fields  and  clumps  of  gleaming  vegetation  in  the 
valley  bottoms  to  the  Onomea  Arch,  a  perfect 
natural  archway  under  a  clifF,  through  which  the 
waves  dash  perpetually.  Four  miles  back  from 
Hilo,  into  the  edges  of  the  great  forest  belt,  is 
the  Kaumana  Cave,  a  tube  extending  for  miles 
under  an  old  lava  flow.  The  stalactites  and 
stalagmites,  the  folds  of  rock  that  look  like  crum- 
pled velvet,  the  tree  roots  pushing  downward 
through  the  rock  in  their  work  of  breaking  up  the 
solid  lava,  the  brilliant  colours  where  the  water 
has  filtered  through,  the  streaks  of  iridiscent 
enamel  on  the  cave  sides — all  make  it  intensely 
interesting.  In  the  town  itself  the  Hilo  Boarding 
School,  where  Hawaiian  boys  are  given  manual 
training,  where  experiments  are  made  in  the  treat- 
ment of  different  native  woods,  is  well  worth  an 
hour's  visit.  It  is  even  more  interesting  as  being 
the  school  on  which  General  Armstrong  modelled 
Hampton  Institute  in  Virginia.  These  things  are 
all  accessible  by  carriage,  all  should  be  seen,  and 
all  cannot  be  seen  if  Hilo  is  considered  merely  as 
a  stopping  place  on  the  road  to  the  Volcano. 
This  is  usually  the  case,  since  the  tourist  goes 


HAWAII  169 

normally  to  Hawaii  only  to  see  Kilauea.  Now 
that  a  macadamised  road  has  been  constructed 
around  the  Island  the  man  who  has  the  time  ought 
to  make  the  circuit.  It  is  as  varied  in  scenery 
as  is  the  short  one-day  trip  around  Oahu,  but  the 
variety  is  totally  different — one  might  be  in  an- 
other part  of  the  world.  To  the  amateur  geologist 
it  is  usually  a  new  experience  to  be  on  an  island 
that  is  in  the  making;  to  the  botanist  an  endless 
field  of  exploration  is  open ;  to  the  student  of  agri- 
culture there  is  opportunity  to  study  the  culti- 
vation or  possibilities  for  cultivation  of  most  crops 
of  the  tropics  and  temperate  zones;  and  for  the 
mere  sightseer  there  are  snow-capped  mountains, 
tangled  tropical  forests,  deserts,  ancient  and  re- 
cent lava  flows,  wild  canons,  hundreds  of  water- 
falls, serene  upland  pastures,  quaint  vestiges  of 
primitive  Hawaiian  life.  Hilo,  where  automobiles 
and  carriages  can  most  readily  be  hired,  is  the 
natural  starting  point  for  the  excursion.  Dust 
coats,  rain  coats,  and  heavy  wraps  should  be  pro- 
vided, as  one  is  likely  to  encounter  all  kinds  of 
weather.  The  roadside  inns  are  simple,  but  every- 
where one  can  find  clean,  comfortable  quarters,  and 
decent  food  at  moderate  prices,  and  everywhere 
people  are  hospitable. 

The  start  from  Hilo,  even  if  one  is  going  direct 
to  the  Volcano,  should  be  made  before  luncheon. 
The  distance  is  only  a  little  over  thirty  miles,  but 


170         HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

to  hurry  is  to  miss  half  the  charm  of  the  ride.  The 
road  immediately  after  leaving  Hilo  crosses  the 
Waiakea  River,  here  a  lazy  stream  winding  its 
slow  way  to  the  ocean  between  banks  overgrown 
with  bamboo  and  oleanders  and  bananas.  The 
road  then  begins  to  wind  upward  through  fields 
of  cane,  past  a  queer  little  forest  of  hala  trees 
or  screw  pines,  through  cane  fields  again,  of  the 
Olaa  Plantation,  and  so  into  the  district  of  Puna, 
that  eastward  near  the  coast  is  the  warmest  and 
wettest  part  of  the  Islands.  The  forest  has  been 
cleared  away  to  make  room  for  cane,  but  vestiges 
of  it  still  remain,  a  few  splendid  scattered  trees 
that  seem  now  like  outposts  of  the  great  forest 
which  raises  its  high  blue  walls  beyond  the  planta- 
tion fields.  If  the  day  is  clear  the  far  distant 
summits  of  Mauna  Kea  and  Mauna  Loa  appear 
and  disappear  behind  the  nearer  hills.  Nine  miles 
from  Hilo  at  the  Olaa  Mill  a  road  turns  to  the 
southeast  from  the  main  highway  and  makes  an 
interesting  side  trip  through  the  Puna  district. 
(A  branch  line  of  the  Hilo  Railroad  taps  the  same 
region.)  Of  interesting  sights  on  this  branch 
road  may  be  mentioned  the  warm  spring  at  Ka- 
poho,  which  makes  a  pool  some  60  feet  long,  30 
feet  wide,  and  25  feet  deep  in  a  cleft  of  lava  rock, 
and  in  which  the  clear,  buoyant  water  is  always 
at  blood  heat.  In  the  forest  near  at  hand  are 
many  interesting  lava  casts.    The  liquid  lava  years 


iff 

a 

o 


o 


o 


eg 
a 


HAWAII  171 

ago  piled  up  around  the  trunks  of  trees,  hardened 
before  the  trees  were  burned  away,  and  were  left 
standing  as  gigantic  vases  in  which  now  are  grow- 
ing ferns  and  shrubs  and  sometimes  small  trees. 
A  long  section  of  the  Puna  coast  has  evidently 
sunk,  as  there  are  dead  stumps  of  cocoanut  trees 
rising  from  the  water.  Along  the  coast  in  several 
places  are  strewn  great  boulders,  which  were 
thrown  up  by  the  tidal  wave  of  1868.  Near 
Kapoho  also  is  Green  Lake,  a  lovely  pond  in  a 
volcanic  cone,  where  the  limpid  water  is  always 
emerald  in  colour.  It  is  circled  with  forests  of 
palms  and  shrubbery,  among  which  can  be  found 
in  great  abundance  the  exquisite  pink  begonia, 
which  is  indigenous  to  Hawaii,  but  which  is  un- 
fortunately found  in  very  few  places.  Not  far 
away  is  the  ancient  heiau,  or  temple  of  Wahaula, 
one  of  the  most  important  of  Hawaiian  temples. 
In  the  Bishop  Museum  in  Honolulu  is  a  miniature 
model  of  this  temple  as  it  would  look  were  it  com- 
pletely restored.  The  only  industry  of  the  region 
of  particular  interest  is  the  saw-mill,  where  huge 
chia  trees  are  cut  into  railroad  ties  to  be  sent  to 
America.  A  peculiarity  of  the  wood  is  that  it  is 
very  hard,  becoming  with  age  so  impenetrable  that 
it  is  impossible  even  to  drive  a  nail. 

Starting  again  from  the  Olaa  Mill  the  road  to 
the  Volcano  House  soon  enters  the  forest,  and  rises 
in  a  gentle  grade,  sometimes  for  miles  in  a  straight 


172         HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

line  between  the  giant  trees.  At  places  the  forest 
on  either  side  is  practically  impenetrable,  assum- 
ing the  character  of  a  real  tropical  jungle,  but 
of  course  without  snakes  or  wild  animals.  The 
trees  are  close  together,  and  clinging  to  them  are 
vines — water-lemon  vines  with  their  juicy  yellow  or 
purple  fruit  that  is  very  good  to  eat,  fantastic 
vines,  with  huge  shining  leaves  or  whorls  of  tough, 
hairy  spines,  vines  interlaced  from  tree  to  tree, 
forming  the  closest  of  screens.  Ferns  of  all  kinds 
mat  the  ground,  and  springing  from  them,  forcing 
themselves  between  underbrush  and  vines,  the  tree 
ferns  reach  their  graceful  fronds  thirty  feet  into 
the  air.  Masses  of  Hawaiian  raspberries  with 
fruit  as  large  as  plums,  but  almost  tasteless,  and 
of  thimble-berries,  with  their  spicy  scarlet  fruit, 
tumble  oyer  the  embankment  on  either  side  of  the 
road,  '^t  intervals  deep  rectangles  have  been  cut 
into  the  forest  and  planted  with  coffee  or  bananas 
or  other  fruits.  Through  the  natural  hedges  in 
front  of  these  clearings  one  catches  glimpses  of 
picturesque  cottages  overgrown  with  vines  and 
reached  from  the  road  on  paths  made  of  the  rough, 
springy  trunks  of  tree  ferns  laid  close  together. 
There  was  once  a  rush  to  the  Olaa  region.  Bits 
of  forest  were  cleared  with  immense  labour  in 
order  to  plant  coffee,  but  the  climate  has  been 
found  not  to  develop  the  best  quality  of  berry, 
and  so  many  of  the  cottages  then  built  are  now 


HAWAII  17S 

used  by  residents  of  Hilo  as  summer  houses  or  as 
week-end  retreats.  The  railroad,  which  most  peo- 
ple take  in  going  to  the  Volcano,  ends  at  the 
twenty-third  mile,  and  its  passengers  are  trans- 
ferred to  a  motor  omnibus  for  the  rest  of  the  trip. 
After  about  the  twenty-fifth  mile  post  the  trees 
begin  to  dwarf  a  little;  open  spaces  with  only  a 
low  scrub  growth  like  heather  become  more  and 
more  frequent.  There  are  still  occasional  clumps 
of  ancient  koa  trees  with  their  crescent-shaped 
leaves  and  their  mighty  trunks,  but  the  fan  palms, 
of  which  there  are  many  in  the  lower  forests,  have 
disappeared.  In  places  the  ground  is  covered 
with  stag-horn  fern,  a  coarse  brake,  stiff  and  im- 
penetrable, which  needs  very  little  soil,  and  which 
is  gradually  covering  geologically  recent  lava 
flows,  and  with  its  strong  roots  is  breaking  them 
up,  thus  accomplishing  the  first  step  in  the  prog- 
ress of  disintegration.  There  is  rock  everywhere, 
scattered  stones,  and  bits  of  old  flows  protruding 
from  the  ground.  The  air  becomes  much  cooler, 
as  the  road  has  ascended  nearly  4,000  feet.  Some- 
times one  gets  a  whiff  of  sulphur  or  sees  a  faint 
wisp  of  steam  hanging  over  a  clump  of  ferns,  but 
there  is  no  other  indication  of  the  nearness  of  an 
active  volcano.  Then  the  road  turns  sharply  to 
the  right  and  in  a  few  minutes  swings  in  through 
beds  of  brilliant  flowers  to  the  door  of  the  Volcano 
House  on  the  brink  of  the  great  crater  of  Kilauea. 


174.         HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

The  Volcano  and  the  surrounding  country, 
which  are  too  important  to  be  merely  incidental 
to  a  trip  around  Hawaii,  are  described  in  the  next 
chapter. 

In  continuing  the  circuit  of  the  Island,  the  road 
leads  around  the  western,  highest  wall  of  the 
crater,  at  first  straight  toward  the  stupendous 
dome  of  Mauna  Loa,  its  broad,  rounded  summit 
seemingly  a  short  three  or  four  miles  away  in  the 
clear  morning  air,  whereas  it  is  in  reality  twenty- 
five  miles  as  the  bird  flies.  The  ascent,  moreover, 
although  gradual,  is  very  difficult,  owing  to  deep 
cracks  in  the  rock  and  to  the  roughness  of  the 
lava  flows,  a  roughness  compared  to  which  irregu- 
larities in  the  surface  of  the  most  twisted  glaciers 
are  hardly  more  than  the  rifts  in  children's 
sand  piles.  Turning  almost  immediately  to 
the  southward,  the  road  enters  a  barren  stretch 
of  country  called  the  Kau  Desert.  It  is 
made  up  of  lava  flows,  one  on  top  of  another, 
some  very  recent,  and  what  little  soil  there  is, 
is  probably  poisoned  by  the  clouds  of  sulphur- 
ous smoke  blown  across  it  from  the  Volcano.  This 
desert  reaches  to  the  sea,  since  many  of  the  flows, 
notably  that  of  1868,  broke  out  only  a  few  miles 
from  shore  and  fell  over  the  low  cliffs  into  the 
water.  Like  all  deserts,  this  of  Kau  has  its  fasci- 
nation, but  it  is  quite  different  from  others,  since 
its  predominating  colours  are  black  and  grey  and 


HAWAII  175 

blue,  unlike  the  sage  green  and  brown  of  Arizona 
or  the  gold  and  pink  of  North  Africa.  Beyond 
the  desert  the  road  passes  through  a  rich  grazing 
country,  and  then  once  more  through  sugar  plan- 
tations where  the  cane  is  carried  to  the  mill  in 
flumes,  sufficient  water  being  obtained  by  driving 
shafts  high  on  the  mountain  side.  This  region  has 
not  the  great  forests  of  the  windward  slopes  as  a 
background.  Instead  there  is  always  the  impres- 
sive upward  swing  of  the  bare  land,  green  and 
brown  except  where  distant  lava  flows  look  like 
sharp  black  shadows  streaking  the  higher  reaches 
of  Mauna  Loa.  One  is  usually  impressed  in  the 
Islands  with  the  smallness  of  it  all,  with  the  near- 
ness of  the  encompassing  ocean.  In  Kau  there  is 
none  of  this  feeling.  The  majesty  of  the  great 
mountain  meets  and  equalises  the  majesty  of  the 
sea,  which  here  takes  its  place  as  a  beautiful  frame, 
without  encroaching  on  the  picture  itself.  After 
passing  Pahala,  one  of  the  largest  and  best  planta- 
tions in  the  district,  and  the  one  which  plants  cane 
at  higher  levels  than  any  other,  the  road  drops 
down  to  the  shore  at  Honuapo,  a  picturesque  vil- 
lage which  is  the  landing  place  for  those  who 
choose  to  reach  the  Volcano  from  the  leeward 
side  of  the  Island,  going  to  the  Volcano  House  by 
stage  and  then  by  continuing  to  Hilo  not 
retracing  their  steps.  Honuapo  is  the  principal 
seaport  of  the  district  of  Kau,  which  district,  in 


176        HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

spite  of  its  lack  of  valleys  and  therefore  of  run- 
ning streams,  and  in  spite  of  its  immense  lava- 
covered  areas,  still  supports  two  flourishing  plan- 
tations and  is  an  excellent  grazing  country.  In 
olden  times  it  had  a  large  native  population  living 
principally  near  the  shore,  who,  by  tapping  under- 
ground rivers,  obtained  abundance  of  good  water. 
The  district  is  rich  in  Hawaiian  folk-lore. 

Turning  due  west  from  Honuapo,  thus  avoiding 
the  long  south  point  of  the  Island,  the  road  makes 
a  long  four-mile  ascent  to  Waiohinu,  which  ap- 
pears suddenly,  a  village  surrounded  with  splendid 
trees  and  overgrown  with  rich  vegetation — a 
startling  contrast  after  the  endless,  dry  reaches 
of  Kau.  This  village  is  the  seat  of  government 
for  the  district,  and  besides  two  churches,  a  court 
house,  and  jail,  has  a  thoroughly  comfortable  inn. 
Through  the  village  runs  the  only  stream  in  a 
stretch  of  150  miles  along  the  coast.  Still  proceed- 
ing westward,  the  road  climbs  in  long  curves  and 
loops  to  an  altitude  of  about  2,000  feet  and  then 
crosses  another  twenty  miles  of  wild  and  desolate 
country,  devastated  by  three  great  eruptions  from 
Mauna  Loa.  In  the  short  intervals  between  the 
flows  a  sparse  forest  growth  has  held  its  own,  and 
everywhere  growing  in  the  crannies  of  the  lava  are 
ferns,  wild  flowers,  and  morning-glories. 

The  district  of  Kona  is  reached  before  passing 
out  of  this  region  of  lava  flows,  the  last  of  which 


HAWAII  177 

to  the  westward  is  the  glistening  new  flow  of  1907. 
On  reaching  Kona  one  cannot  help  feeling  a  change 
in  the  atmosphere  that  seems  to  produce  a  change 
in  the  whole  aspect  of  the  country.  It  is  commonly 
said  that  the  trade  winds  make  the  climate  of  the 
Islands,  yet  in  Kona  the  trade  winds  do  not  blow, 
and  there  the  climate  is  perhaps  pleasanter  than 
anywhere  else.  The  coastline  runs  north  and 
south,  but  to  the  east  the  mass  of  Mauna  Loa  and 
to  the  north  the  dome  of  Hualalai  cut  off  the  pas- 
sage of  the  winds.  Instead  of  the  trades,  there- 
fore, a  gentle  west  wind  blows  in  all  day  from  the 
sea,  piling  its  moisture  in  a  bank  of  clouds  against 
the  high  lands  to  the  east.  As  this  bank  spreads 
seaward,  following  the  sun,  there  are  often  showers 
in  the  late  afternoon  or  night.  Always  toward 
sundown  the  sea  breeze  dies  away,  and  in  its  place 
springs  up  a  breeze  from  the  mountain,  cold  and 
refreshing,  which  blows  all  night.  With  such  a 
climate  Kona  might  be  called  almost  abnormally 
healthful,  and  there  is  an  old  Hawaiian  saying 
that  "  in  the  district  people  never  die ;  they  dry 
up  and  blow  away." 

Kona,  the  soil  of  which  is  made  up  entirely  of 
decomposed  lava  flows,  is  very  hilly,  but  without 
gulches  or  streams.  On  account  of  its  regular 
rainfall,  it  is  one  of  the  richest  and  most  produc- 
tive in  Hawaii.  Near  the  shore  there  is  a  narrow 
strip  of  very  dry  land,  bordered  by  an  abrupt 


178         HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

slope,  above  which  are  the  upland  plains,  cool, 
bracing,  and  plentifully  watered.  Along  these 
uplands,  two  miles  or  more  from  the  shore,  runs 
the  main  road,  with  branches  down  to  the  landings. 
Everything  grows  here,  even  though  the  land  ap- 
pears in  places  to  be  only  a  mass  of  loose  rock. 
Agriculturally  the  difficulty  lies  in  expense  of 
transportation  and  distance  from  a  market,  which 
makes  the  raising  of  perishable  crops  unprofitable. 
The  chief  industry  is  the  raising  of  coffee,  the 
best  in  the  Island  coming  from  Kona,  and  the  fields 
of  neat  little  trees,  dressed  in  their  dark,  shining 
green  leaves,  or  in  a  mantle  of  snow-white  blossoms, 
or  studded  with  carmine  berries,  are  always  won- 
derfully attractive.  There  are  fields,  too,  of  pine- 
apples, of  sisal  on  the  dry  coast.  Vanilla  twines 
around  the  trunks  of  trees.  Tobacco  has  lately 
been  planted,  and  the  flourishing  plantations, 
which  produce  a  very  superior  quality  of  leaf, 
give  every  promise  of  success.  A  rocky  country 
it  is,  but  radiant  with  a  very  varied  vegetation ; 
beautiful  with  the  great,  misty  slopes  of  Mauna 
Loa  to  the  east,  and  of  Hualalai,  not  so  high,  but 
appearing  so  because  it  is  steeper,  to  the  north. 

Kona  abounds  also  in  places  of  interest.  At 
Honaunau  are  the  remains  of  an  ancient  city  of 
refuge  occupying  the  six  or  seven  acres  of  a  low 
lava  point  on  the  south  side  of  the  bay.  The  walls, 
of  which  those  on  the  south  and  east  are  almost 


HAWAII  179 

intact,  are  about  twelve  feet  high  and  eighteen 
feet  thick.  One  temple  stood  on  a  platform  of 
rock  facing  the  bay,  and  below  it  was  another  and 
larger  temple,  parts  of  which,  including  two  sacri- 
ficial altar  stones,  still  remain.  This  is  one  of  the 
most  famous  of  the  Hawaiian  ruins.  It  is  com- 
paratively well  preserved,  and  is  impressive  in 
its  surroundings  as  well  as  for  its  size  and  history. 
Many  thousands  would  hardly  equal  the  number 
of  those  who  must  have  been  saved  from  death  by 
its  protecting  walls  in  the  centuries  that  have 
gone.  A  few  miles  further  up  the  coast  is  Napoo- 
poo,  where  Captain  Cook  landed  and  traded  with 
the  natives,  and  across  the  bay  is  Kaawaloa,  where 
he  was  killed.  Here,  among  the  cocoanut  trees 
near  the  shore,  where  it  can  be  seen  from  passing 
vessels,  has  been  put  up  a  plain  shaft  of  concrete 
bearing  the  following  inscription :  "  In  Memory 
of  the  Great  Circumnavigator  Captain  James 
Cook,  R.  N.,  who  discovered  these  islands  on  the 
18th  of  January,  a.  d.  1778,  and  fell  near  this 
spot  on  the  14th  of  February,  a.  d.  1779.  This 
monument  was  erected  in  November,  a.  d.  1874,  by 
some  of  his  fellow  countrymen."  A  few  miles  north 
of  here  on  the  beach  road  is  the  famous  battle-field 
of  Kekuaokalani,  where,  after  the  ancient  religion 
was  abolished,  certain  rebels  under  a  chieftain 
fought  to  restore  the  gods.  They  were  decisively 
beaten  by  Kamehameha  II,  with  whom  were  the 


180         HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

high  priest  of  the  old  religion  and  many  of  the 
more  enlightened  chiefs.  The  drive  of  eighteen  miles 
along  the  main  road  from  Napoopoo  northward 
to  Kailua  has  the  reputation  of  being  one  of  the 
finest  in  the  Territory.  One  rapidly  approaches 
Hualalai,  and  Mauna  Loa,  as  it  recedes,  seems  to 
loom  up  higher  than  ever.  The  road  is  well  above 
the  sea,  so  that  the  horizon  is  distant,  the  boun- 
dary of  a  great  mirror  of  placid  blue  water.  At 
Keauhou,  a  little  more  than  halfway,  there  is  a 
splendidly  preserved  stone  slide  down  a  steep  hill- 
side— the  best  relic  remaining  of  the  popular 
ancient  Hawaiian  sport  of  coasting.  Extending 
all  through  the  district  is  an  old  stone  wall,  built 
by  enforced  labour  on  command  of  the  chiefs  to 
exclude  animals  from  the  agricultural  lands  on  the 
higher  levels.  Kailua  itself,  the  chief  landing  for 
north  Kona,  is  a  village  on  the  seashore.  Its  most 
striking  feature  is  a  large  stone  church  built  in 
1835,  when  the  surrounding  country  was  thickly 
populated.  Here  also  is  a  square,  plain,  wooden 
building  surrounded  with  broad  verandas — the 
old  palace  of  the  kings.  Kailua  is  hot  but  attrac- 
tive with  its  cocoanuts  and  groves  of  other  trees, 
and  if  a  steamer  happens  to  be  off  port  it  is  always 
interesting  to  watch  cattle  being  embarked.  They 
are  tied  by  their  horns  to  the  outer  sides  of  a 
rowboat  and  so  half-dragged,  half-swimming,  are 
carried  out  to  the  ship,  where  they  are  hoisted 


HAWAII  181 

to  the  decks  with  pulleys.  It  is  a  method  which 
might  well  appear  primitive  to  those  accustomed 
to  the  operations  of  the  Chicago  Stock  Yards. 
Near  Kailua,  and  indeed  all  through  this  region, 
one  sees  the  quaint  old  grass  houses,  relics  of  a 
hundred  years  ago,  that  are  even  now  occasionally 
built  in  the  old  style. 

From  Kailua  the  road  skirts  the  west  slope  of 
Hualalai.  The  mountain  rises  gently  at  first,  but 
ends  in  a  steep  incline,  which  makes  the  ascent 
difficult.  There  is  a  small  crater  at  the  top,  but 
no  volcanic  activity  has  occurred  since  1901, 
when  a  lava  flow  broke  out  on  the  lower  slopes  a 
few  miles  north  of  Kailua.  Kamehameha  threw  a 
lock  of  his  hair  into  the  lava  to  appease  the  wrath 
of  Pele.  On  the  sides  of  the  mountain  are  several 
yawning  pits,  the  vents  of  ancient  lava  streams. 
Except  on  the  north  side,  which  is  nearly  bare, 
the  slopes  are  thinly  wooded,  among  the  trees  being 
clumps  of  the  cheromoya,  or  custard  apple,  a  de- 
licious tropical  fruit  with  a  rich  and  yet  very 
delicate  flavour.  It  is  unknown  in  commerce 
because  it  does  not  keep  after  picking.  Through 
an  excellent  ranching  country  and  through 
growths  of  indigenous  Hawaiian  trees  the  road 
winds  its  way,  turning  northward  about  ten  miles 
from  Kailua  and  striking  across  country  toward 
Waimea  in  the  district  of  Kohala.  On  the  north- 
erly slope  of  Hualalai  the  road  crosses  a  lava 


182         HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

flow  so  old  that  there  is  no  tradition  of  its  bursting 
out,  and  yet  it  looks  as  fresh,  the  folds  of  lava  as 
polished,  as  though  it  had  hardly  cooled.  In  many 
respects  it  is  the  most  interesting  of  all  Hawaiian 
flows,  presenting  impressive  evidences  of  tremen- 
dous force  and  power.  A  few  miles  north  of  Hua- 
lalai,  where  the  road  again  strikes  the  vast  slopes 
of  Mauna  Loa,  here  fifty  miles  or  more  distant 
from  the  summit,  the  great  flow  of  the  eruption  of 
1859  is  crossed.  This  flow  broke  out  near  the 
mountain  top,  and  for  months  pressed  on  steadily 
toward  the  sea,  destroyed  finally  the  fishing  village 
of  Kiholo,  filled  completely  the  greatest  and  most 
celebrated  of  Hawaiian  fish  ponds,  and  before  it 
ceased  pushed  out  into  the  sea  a  rocky  point  of 
several  hundred  acres. 

Waimea  lies  2,669  feet  above  sea  level  on  the 
plateau  between  Mauna  Kea  and  the  Kohala  Moun- 
tains. It  is  eleven  miles  from  the  seaport  of  Ka- 
waihae  to  the  west,  and  seventeen  miles  from  the 
Honokaa  Landing  directly  east  in  the  district  of 
Hamakua.  Mails  and  passengers  for  this  district 
are  usually  landed  on  the  west  coast  and  carried 
overland,  since  on  the  Hamakua  coast  there  are 
no  harbours  and  the  landings,  disagreeable  enough 
at  any  time,  are  impossible  in  rough  weather.  The 
side  trip  from  Waimea  to  the  desolate  west  coast 
is  hardly  worth  taking,  as  the  road  descends 
through  grazing  lands  similar  to  those  in  the  direc- 


HAWAII  US 

tion  of  Kona,  and  there  are  neither  lava  flows  nor 
forests  to  relieve  the  monotony.  The  only  thing 
of  interest  at  Kawaihae  is  a  heiau,  or  temple,  built 
by  Kamehameha  in  1791.  This  was  one  of  the 
largest  of  the  heiaus,  and  is  far  less  ruined  than 
are  most.  With  Waimea  as  a  centre  the  side  trip 
to  the  north,  on  the  contrary,  is  well  worth  the 
extra  day  or  two  which  must  be  devoted  to  it. 

The  town  of  Kohala  is  the  centre  of  population 
for  the  district  and  is  the  seat  of  the  district  court. 
It  is  prettily  situated,  and  has  an  unusually  large 
percentage  of  white  people  as  well  as  a  large  Chi- 
nese population.  Near  here  Kamehameha  was 
born,  and  here  he  spent  the  last  years  of  his 
life,  so  the  original  of  his  statue  in  Honolulu 
stands  appropriately  in  the  town.  There  is 
here  an  excellent  girls'  industrial  school,  similar 
in  its  purpose  to  the  boys'  school  in  Hilo.  Kohala 
is  also  at  the  centre  of  an  extensive  and  long-estab- 
lished sugar  district.  The  plantations  formerly 
depended  on  rain  for  irrigation,  but  have  now  been 
made  independent  of  the  rainfall  by  a  great  ditch 
which  carries  water  from  twenty-five  miles  back 
in  the  mountains.  Like  the  great  ditches  on  Kauai 
and  Maui,  it  was  a  difficult  engineering  feat,  since 
the  water  had  to  be  brought  for  three-fifths  of  the 
way  through  tunnels.  The  horseback  ride  along 
the  line  of  this  ditch  takes  one  through  some  of 
the  most  magnificent  scenery  in  the  Islands.    The 


184         HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

Kohala  Range  is  the  oldest  part  of  Hawaii,  older 
indeed  than  parts  of  the  northwestern  islands,  and 
as  a  result  erosion  has  cut  it  into  rugged  and  pre- 
cipitous forms.  It  is  through  this  chaos  of  moun- 
tains, which  rise  to  a  height  of  5,489  feet,  that 
the  Kohala  ditch  runs,  beginning  in  a  reservoir 
east  of  the  mountains  near  the  head  of  the  superb 
Waipio  and  Waimanu  Valleys.  These  tremendous 
gulches,  and  the  sheer  sea  cliffs  many  hundred  feet 
high  which  separate  them,  seem  possibly  to  be  the 
result  of  another  fault  by  which  a  part  of  the 
coast  slid  into  the  sea.  Certainly  to  look  down 
into  them  from  above  one  can  scarcely  believe  that 
erosion  since  the  world  began  could  have  made 
such  clean-cut  precipices  nor  carved  out  such 
mighty  gorges.  Waipio  runs  back  from  the  sea 
four  miles,  and  then  turns  at  right  angles  west- 
ward, ending  back  of  Waimanu.  Almost  at  the 
turn  and  near  the  village  of  Waipio  there  used 
to  be  a  waterfall  1,700  feet  high,  but  this  can 
be  seen  now  only  in  very  rainy  weather,  since  its 
water  has  been  flumed  away  to  carry  cane  to  the 
mills.  Ulu  Falls,  practically  inaccessible  at  the 
very  head  of  the  Valley,  is  3,000  feet  high. 
Waimanu  Valley  is  not  as  deep  as  its  neighbour, 
nor  as  precipitous,  but  is  far  more  beautiful  in 
shape  and  in  colouring.  The  trip  along  the 
Kohala  ditch,  a  good  day  on  horseback  from  the 
town,  not   only   leads   through   the   grandest   of 


HAWAII  185 

mountain  scenery,  but  allows  one  to  look  down 
into  these  two  extraordinary  valleys.  For  one 
making  the  circuit  of  the  island  by  motor  an 
excellent  side  trip  is  therefore  to  leave  the  car 
at  Kohala  and,  taking  the  horseback  ride  through 
the  mountains,  to  meet  it  again  on  the  road  be- 
tween Waimea  and  the  Hamakua  coast. 

From  Waimea,  with  its  bracing  air,  its  marvel- 
lous views  of  the  Kohala  Mountains  on  one  side 
and  of  snow-capped  Mauna  Kea  on  the  other,  the 
road  to  Hilo  runs  directly  eastward  to  the  coast. 
The  fork  to  the  northwest  adds  a  few  miles  to 
the  distance,  but  permits  one  to  look  into  the 
huge  mouth  of  Waipio  Valley  before  joining  the 
main  road  again  at  Honokaa. 

From  this  village  with  its  plantation  and  its 
wild  landing  the  road  turns  southeastward  along 
the  Hamakua  coast.  This  district,  except  for 
the  Waipio  region  in  the  north,  has  no  springs 
or  running  streams,  owing  to  the  abrupt  slope  of 
the  land.  Ditches  recently  built  have  greatly  im- 
proved the  plantations,  as  they  have  enabled  them 
to  flume  their  cane  and  to  irrigate  during  the 
very  rare  times  of  drought.  Some  plantations 
have  built  railroads  to  transport  cane  to  the  mills ; 
one  has  instituted  a  complete  overhead  cable  sys- 
tem. The  mills  themselves  are  always  on  the 
bluff  over  the  ocean,  where  each  has  its  own  land- 
ing.    Sugar,  freight,  and  passengers  are  lowered 


186         HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

in  baskets  by  cables  into  rowboats  waiting  at  the 
foot  of  the  cliffs.  Such  an  embarkation,  with  the 
basket  swinging  in  the  wind,  and  the  inevitable 
curiosity  as  to  whether  one  will  finally  reach  the 
boat  or  the  water,  is  an  experience  which  taxes 
the  nerves  in  any  weather,  and  which  in  rough 
weather  is  really  dangerous.  Hamakua,  next  to 
Kona,  is  the  principal  coffee  district  of  the  Island, 
and  there  are  thriving  plantations  a  little  distance 
up  the  slope  of  Mauna  Kea  along  the  edge  of 
the  forest.  The  villages  are  divided  between  the 
mills  at  the  edge  of  the  bluffs  and  the  road  about 
a  mile  inland.  The  gulches  to  cross  are  unim- 
portant and  not  particularly  interesting,  but  the 
gradually  shifting  view  as  one  circles  the  moun- 
tain, the  freshness  of  the  green  cane,  here  always 
washed  clean  with  the  frequent  showers,  the  fields 
of  coffee,  neat  and  polished  looking,  even  in  the 
distance,  the  dark  edge  of  the  advancing  and  re- 
treating forest,  the  bold  outlines  of  the  sea  cliffs, 
even  the  six  sugar  mills  that  are  passed,  make 
this  part  of  the  trip  constantly  interesting. 

On  entering  the  district  of  Hilo  at  Ookala, 
thirty-two  miles  from  the  town  of  Hilo,  one  has 
reached  a  land  of  deep  gulches,  each  with  its 
precipitous  sides  masked  under  a  wild  tangle  of 
trees  and  shrubs  and  vines.  The  road  winds  in  and 
out,  up  and  down,  crosses  stream  after  stream. 
In  the  gulches  one  has,  through  groves  of  cocoa- 


HAWAII  187 

nuts,  entrancing  glimpses  of  the  tumbling  water, 
with  the  surf  gleaming  white  near  the  shore.  Near 
the  streams  the  air  is  often  heavy  with  the  violent 
perfume  of  lovely  white  or  yellow  ginger  flowers. 
High  overhead  swing  the  slender  cane  flumes  that 
carry  the  sugar  cane  to  the  mills  on  the  shore. 
On  the  ridges  that  separate  the  gulches  the  dark 
blue  horizon  line  curves  out  in  a  great  half-circle 
against  the  paler  sky,  and  on  the  land  side  Mauna 
Kea  thrusts  its  snowy  crest  above  the  dark  forests 
and  the  ring  of  clouds  above  them.  Across  its 
eastern  shoulder,  far  beyond,  the  mighty  summit 
of  Mauna  Loa  looks  like  the  back  of  some  levi- 
athan, its  monstrous  body  hidden  behind  the  for- 
ests and  the  low-lying  mists.  The  whole  coast, 
with  its  rugged  promontories,  its  bits  of  pale 
green  cane,  its  plantation  houses  in  their  groves 
of  trees,  its  precipices  garlanded  with  sky-blue 
morning-glories  or  golden  nasturtiums,  its  cocoa- 
nuts  and  bananas,  with  always  the  restlessly  surg- 
ing ocean  on  one  side  and  on  the  other  the  serene 
mountains,  is  a  marvellous  panorama,  changing 
with  every  turn,  changing  as  the  sunlight  flashes 
and  as  sudden  showers  veil  the  distant  points. 

The  towns  are  unimportant.  Laupahoehoe 
stands  on  a  leaf-shaped  tongue  of  rock  that  juts 
into  the  sea — "  lava  leaf  "  is  the  English  of  the 
name.  Surf  always  pounds  on  the  shore,  and 
during  a  storm  the  roar  of  waters  dominates  all 


188         HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

other  sounds.  The  landing  is  from  small  boats 
in  a  little  cove  which  fortunately  is  smooth,  even 
though  the  sea  outside  may  be  very  rough.  If 
it  were  not  for  the  great  dexterity  of  the  Hawaiian 
boatmen,  who  handle  passengers  as  though  they 
were  bags  of  sugar,  embarking  and  disembarking 
from  rolling  steamers  into  dancing  row-boats 
would  be  quite  impossible.  At  Honomu  an  ex- 
cellent Japanese  school  with  a  boarding  depart- 
ment has  induced  many  Japanese  to  settle  on  the 
adjacent  lands.  Back  in  the  gulch  and  easily 
reached  is  the  Akaka  Fall,  500  feet  high,  one 
of  the  prettiest  in  the  Islands,  that  tumbles  over 
the  edge  of  jet-black  rocks  and  into  a  basin  back 
of  which  is  a  deep,  dark  cave.  At  either  side 
the  precipices  are  covered  with  maiden-hair  and 
other  small  ferns,  and  around  the  basin  high  trees 
accentuate  the  altitude  of  the  Fall.  The  natural 
arch  at  Onomea  marks  the  approach  to  Hilo  and 
the  view  of  the  beautiful  crescent-shaped  bay  with 
the  tree-embowered  town  behind  is  a  lovely  ending 
to  an  excursion  which  can  nowhere  be  surpassed 
in  its  infinite  variety  of  glorious  natural  scenery. 
No  directions  can  be  given  as  to  stopping- 
places  along  the  route,  because  the  distance  cov- 
ered each  day  must  depend  on  the  weather  and 
on  the  inclination  of  the  traveller.  There  are 
comfortable  inns  at  the  Volcano,  at  Waiohinu, 
at  Kealakekua  Bay,  at  Kailua,  at  Waimea,   at 


HAWAII  189 

Kohala,  at  Honokaa,  and  at  Laupahoehoe. 
Granted  good  weather  the  tourist  travelling  by 
automobile  might  plan  to  make  his  first  stop  at 
the  Volcano  House,  31  miles,  or  with  the  side 
trip  into  Puna,  77  miles;  his  next  at  Waiohinu, 
42  miles ;  his  next  at  Kealakekua,  42  miles ;  his 
next  at  Waimea,  35  miles  (the  road  is  in  parts 
not  very  good)  ;  the  side  trip  to  Kohala  and  back 
to  Waimea  is  56  miles,  and  the  night  might  well 
be  spent  in  Kohala,  proceeding  next  to  Honokaa, 
44  miles;  the  last  day  to  Hilo,  50  miles.  It 
would  be  possible  to  make  the  circuit  of  the  Island 
by  automobile  in  three  days,  omitting  all  the 
side  trips,  but  for  full  enjoyment  of  the  scenery 
and  to  visit  the  various  points  of  interest,  a  week 
is  none  too  much.  Accommodations  are  every- 
where simple,  but  everywhere  clean  and  comfort- 
able, and  a  breakdown  is  nowhere  serious,  since 
even  in  villages  where  there  are  no  inns  the  people 
are  hospitable  and  are  always  glad  to  take  in 
strangers. 

For  those  able  and  willing  to  take  long,  rough 
horseback  trips  there  are  three  excursions  at  least 
which  are  well  worth  while.  First  is  the  ascent 
of  Mauna  Loa.  This  can  perhaps  best  be  made 
from  the  ranch  of  the  Hawaiian  Agricultural 
Company  at  Pahala,  Kau,  on  the  south  side  of 
the  mountain,  where  Mr.  Monserratt,  the  manager 
of  the  ranch,  will  make  all  arrangements.     The 


190         HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

trail  leads  up  the  shoulder  of  the  mountain  over 
the  roughest  possible  lava  flows  through  country 
that  is  superb  in  the  desolation  of  its  high  wind- 
swept places.  The  ascent  takes  a  full  day  and 
the  night  is  spent  on  the  brink  of  the  great  summit 
crater  of  Mokuaweoweo.  At  an  altitude  of  nearly 
14,000  feet  the  nights  are  of  course  always  very 
cold.  The  ascent  can  also  be  made,  if  more  con- 
venient, from  the  west  side,  from  Napoopoo  in 
Kona,  where  Mr.  John  Gaspar  takes  charge  of 
arrangements.  This  trip  is  longer,  taking  usu- 
ally three  days  to  go  up  and  back,  but  has  the 
advantage  of  finer  views,  since  both  Hualalai  and 
Mauna  Kea  are  visible  for  the  greater  part  of 
the  time. 

The  second  excursion,  and  one  less  often  taken, 
is  the  ascent  of  Mauna  Kea.  The  best  point  of 
departure  is  from  the  Parkers'  sheep  ranch,  which 
is  situated  thirty-five  or  forty  miles  from  Waimea 
on  the  great  upland  plateau  between  the  three 
mountains.  Mauna  Kea,  which  is  the  highest 
island  mountain  in  the  world,  has  a  summit  plat- 
form five  miles  long  and  two  wide,  and  it  is  the 
huge  cinder  cones  on  this  platform,  which  from 
below  look  like  peaks,  which  make  this  mountain 
higher  than  its  greater  neighbour.  On  this  plat- 
form, 12,000  feet  above  sea  level,  is  an  ancient 
quarry,  where  the  natives  in  olden  times  made 
their  stone  adzes  and  weapons.     There  is  also  a 


HAWAII  191 

small  lake  fed  from  the  melting  snows.  From 
the  Parkers'  ranch  it  is  possible  to  go  to  the 
top  and  back  in  one  long  day,  and  through  the 
courtesy  of  the  Parkers  two  nights  may  be  spent 
at  the  ranch.  The  ascent  may  also  be  made  from 
Mana  on  the  northwest  side,  from  Keanakola  on 
the  north,  or  from  Papaiko  on  the  east,  arrange- 
ments for  the  trip  being  made  in  Hilo.  Any  one 
of  these  routes  leads  through  the  native  forests, 
here  quite  untouched,  as  well  as  over  the  rocky 
region  above  the  forest  line,  but  any  one  takes 
more  time  than  the  first. 

Another  most  interesting  and  almost  unknown 
horseback  trip  is  that  from  Kalaeha  to  Kilauea. 
This  trail  leads  through  magnificent  and  quite 
unexplored  forests  and  across  lava  flows  most 
fantastic  in  their  formations.  It  takes  one 
through  some  of  the  most  beautiful  country  on 
Hawaii,  through  regions  that  are  practically  un- 
known, and  where  one  can  see  the  virgin  tropical 
forests  as  wild  and  tangled  as  they  were  before 
the  discovery  of  the  Islands.  Arrangements  for 
this  excursion,  which  takes  three  days,  must  be 
made  with  Mr.  Shipman  in  Hilo. 

These  three  trips,  although  perfectly  practica- 
ble for  good  riders,  are  seldom  taken  by  tourists, 
who  think  that  when  they  have  seen  Kilauea, 
certainly  when  they  have  made  the  circuit  of  the 
Island,  they  have  seen  all  that  there  is  to  be  seen. 


192         HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

Only  by  going  off  the  beaten  track,  however,  can 
one  get  a  true  impression  of  the  country;  only 
in  this  way  an  idea  of  the  natural  scenery  un- 
affected by  civilisation — scenery  which  happens  to 
be  of  supreme  natural  beauty.  Only  by  taking 
such  trips  as  these,  moreover,  can  the  tourist 
realise  that  Hawaii  is  fully  in  the  tropics,  a  land 
of  superabundant,  huge-leaved,  multi-coloured 
growth.  Tourists  who  wish  to  see  these  things 
should  remember  that  except  for  the  ascent  of 
Mauna  Loa,  which,  although  the  hardest  trip,  is 
often  taken,  notice  of  at  least  two  or  three  days 
should  be  given  so  that  arrangements  can  be 
made. 

Even  if  it  had  no  volcanoes  Hawaii,  with  its 
magnificent  mountains  and  its  endless  variety  of 
climate  and  scenery,  would  well  repay  a  visit  of 
several  days.  It  is,  however,  the  volcanoes  and 
especially  the  great  active  volcano  of  Kilauea 
which  make  the  crossing  to  the  Island  imperative 
and  which  would  make  worth  while  a  journey  half 
way  around  the  world. 


CHAPTER  XI 


THE  VOLCANOES 


According  to  all  the  rules  of  school  geographies 
a  volcano  ought  to  be  situated  on  top  of  a  moun- 
tain ;  it  ought  to  throw  out  stones,  and  ashes,  and 
molten  lava;  its  crater  should  be  in  the  shape  of 
an  inverted  cone  and  should  emit  terrifying 
noises;  periodically  it  should  overwhelm  a  village 
or  two.  Kilauea  conforms  to  none  of  these  speci- 
fications. Although  it  probably  started  out  to 
make  a  mountain  of  its  own,  it  is  actually  4,000 
feet  above  sea  level  on  the  southeastern  slope  of 
Mauna  Loa.  It  has  thrown  out  neither  stones 
nor  ashes  since  it  annihilated  the  army  that  was 
marching  against  Kamehameha,  almost  a  hundred 
and  fifty  years  ago.  It  retains  its  lava  within 
its  own  crater,  which  is  not  shaped  like  an  in- 
verted cone.  The  walls,  on  the  contrary,  are 
vertical,  and  the  floor,  except  that  it  rises  toward 
the  southern  part,  horizontal.  The  sides  are 
from  100  to  700  feet  high  and  7.85  miles  in 
circumference,  and  the  floor  covers  2,650  acres. 
The  volcano  seldom  makes  terrifying  noises — at 
least,  of  the  kind  heard  in  imagination  by  a  school- 
boy. Thousands  of  people  descend  into  the 
193 


194        HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

crater  annually,  and  not  one  has  ever  been  in- 
jured. In  fact,  it  is  excellently  behaved,  not 
being,  like  Vesuvius  and  Etna,  one  of  the  explo- 
sive class  of  volcanoes. 

The  Volcano  House  stands  on  the  northern 
bank  of  the  crater,  with  a  wonderful  view  across 
it,  in  clear  weather,  to  the  sea ;  of  the  great  snowy 
mass  of  Mauna  Loa  to  the  west,  and  of  the  peak 
of  Mauna  Kea  above  the  forests  away  to  the 
northward.  Back  of  it  are  beautiful  koa  forests, 
and  some  of  the  best  masses  of  tree  ferns  to  be 
found  anywhere.  The  only  caution  to  be  observed 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  crater  is  to  walk  always 
where  the  ground  is  visible,  never  to  take  short 
cuts  through  clumps  of  ferns,  since  the  country 
is  intersected  with  cracks,  and  the  warm  steam 
issuing  from  them  and  keeping  the  ground  moist, 
usually  induces  heavy  growth.  Some  of  these 
steam-cracks  are  large  enough  to  fall  into,  and 
as  they  are  very  hot  a  few  feet  down  such  a  fall 
might  be  a  serious  matter.  Animals  have  been 
killed  in  this  way.  Just  toward  the  mountain 
from  the  Volcano  House  steam  issues  from  banks 
of  red  earth  through  myriads  of  tiny  holes,  and 
has  encrusted  the  banks  with  sulphur,  brilliant 
yellow  and  white  against  the  red,  in  places 
formed  into  the  most  delicate  crystals.  The  sep- 
arate little  orifices  are  too  hot  to  touch  with  the 
bare  hand,  but  the  banks  are  safe  to  walk  over. 


THE  VOLCANOES  195 

Steam  is  brought  from  them  in  wooden  pipes  to 
a  bath-house,  where  one  can  take  the  most  re- 
freshing of  natural  Turkish  baths. 

The  main  interest  naturally  centres  in  the  trip 
to  the  crater.  The  old  approach,  still  advisable 
for  good  walkers,  is  by  a  path  down  the  side, 
which  is  here  broken  and  wooded,  directly  in  front 
of  the  hotel.  During  the  descent  one  passes 
under  low  growing  lehna  trees,  and  by  many 
sturdy  little  yellow-green  leaved  sandalwood  trees 
that  have  made  their  slow  growth  since  the  time 
of  the  mad  exportation  of  sandalwood  in  the  early 
nineteenth  century.  The  walk  across  the  floor 
of  the  crater,  about  two  and  one-half  miles,  is 
over  a  hard  lava  bed,  more  or  less  up  and  down, 
since  lava  hardens  quickly  and  remains  as  it 
flowed,  in  great  ropes  and  ripples.  A  few  yards 
from  shore — one  comes  naturally  to  call  the  bank 
"  shore  " — a  ragged  crack  is  crossed  by  a  wooden 
bridge.  At  the  time  this  crack  opened  a  large 
party  was  in  the  crater.  They  stayed  long  be- 
cause they  were  delighted  with  the  unusual  activ- 
ity of  the  lake  and  had  no  idea  that  this  activity 
extended  beyond  the  pit  of  fire  until  at  last  they 
started  to  go  back  to  the  hotel.  It  was  night, 
and  as  they  approached  the  northern  bank  of 
the  crater  their  lanterns  suddenly  revealed  a  huge 
fissure  directly  across  their  path.  Already 
molten  lava  was  bubbling  up  at  the  bottom.    They 


196         HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

followed  the  edge  of  the  crack,  keenly  conscious, 
undoubtedly,  as  they  turned  to  keep  parallel  with 
the  crater  wall,  that  they  were  on  the  inner  edge. 
At  last  they  found  a  spot  where  the  lava  had 
split  unevenly,  leaving  a  projecting  ledge  on 
which  it  was  possible  to  stand  and  so  to  jump  to 
the  other  side.  The  whole  experience,  with  the 
thought  of  sinking  to  the  fires  beneath,  or  of  being 
overwhelmed  by  the  lava  slowly  rising  in  the  fis- 
sure, and  the  utter  helplessness  of  their  situation, 
was  enough  to  test  the  most  fearless. 

As  the  trail  winds  across  the  uneven  lava  one 
is  tempted  again  and  again  to  turn  aside  to  ex- 
plore some  curious  cone  or  unusual  formations, 
but  always  even  more  tempting  is  the  sharp  black 
line  ahead  that  cuts  across  the  lazy  clouds  of  yel- 
low smoke.  Even  the  afternoon  colours  on  the 
mountain,  the  wonder  of  the  whole  great,  strange 
crater,  fail  to  divert  attention  from  that  black 
rim.  Curiosity  as  to  what  is  back  of  it,  below 
it,  overcomes  all  other  feelings.  One  reaches  it 
suddenly.  It  is  a  rim,  as  it  looked,  the  rim  of  a 
profounder  pit,  a  crater  within  the  crater.  The 
cavity  is  perhaps  1,000  feet  across,  and  its  pre- 
cipitous sides  lead  down  to  a  lake  of  molten  lava 
several  acres  in  extent,  sometimes  higher,  some- 
times lower  in  the  pit.  This  is  Halemaumau, 
which  is  commonly  translated  the  "  house  of  ever- 
lasting fire,"  but  which  undoubtedly  means   the 


The  Rim  of  the  Crater  of  Haleakala 


THE  VOLCANOES  197 

**  home  of  the  Maumau  fern,"  this  fern  having  a 
leaf  which  the  twisted  and  curled  lava  strongly 
suggests.  But  whatever  its  name,  Halemaumau 
is  certainly  the  centre  of  volcanic  activity,  the 
house  of  the  goddess  Pele. 

By  daylight  the  lake  of  fire  is  a  greenish  yel- 
low, cut  with  ragged  cracks  of  red  that  look  like 
pale  streaks  of  stationary  lightning  across  its 
surface.  It  is  restless,  breathing  rapidly,  bub- 
bling up  at  one  point  and  sinking  down  in  an- 
other; throwing  up  sudden  fountains  of  scarlet 
molten  lava  that  play  a  few  minutes  and  subside, 
leaving  shimmering  mounds  which  gradually  settle 
to  the  level  surface  of  the  lake,  turning  brown 
and  yellow  as  they  sink.  But  as  the  daylight 
fades  the  fires  of  the  pit  shine  more  brightly. 
Mauna  Loa,  behind,  becomes  a  pale,  grey-blue, 
insubstantial  dome,  and  overhead  stars  begin  to 
appear.  As  darkness  comes  the  colours  on  the 
lake  grow  so  intense  that  they  almost  hurt.  The 
fire  is  not  only  red;  it  is  blue  and  purple  and 
orange  and  green.  Blue  flames  shimmer  and  dart 
about  the  edges  of  the  pit,  back  and  forth  across 
"ftil  surface  of  the  restless  mass.  Sudden  foun- 
tains paint  blood-red  the  great  plume  of  sulphur 
smoke  that  rises  constantly,  to  drift  away  across 
the  poisoned  desert  of  Kau.  ^Sometimes  the 
spurts  of  lava  are  so  violent,  so  exaggerated  by 
the  night,  that  one  draws  back  terrified  lest  some 


198         HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

atom  of  their  molten  substance  should  spatter 
over  the  edge  of  the  precipice.  Sometimes  the 
whole  lake  is  in  motion.  Waves  of  fire  toss  and 
battle  with  each  other  and  dash  in  clouds  of 
bright  vermilion  spray  against  the  black  sides 
of  the  pit.  Sometimes  one  of  these  sides  falls 
in  with  a  roar  that  echoes  back  and  forth,  and 
mighty  rocks  are  swallowed  in  the  liquid  mass  of 
fire  that  closes  over  them  in  a  whirlpool,  like 
water  over  a  sinking  ship.  Again  everything  is 
quiet,  a  thick  scum  forms  over  the  surface  of  the 
lake,  dead,  like  the  scum  on  the  surface  of  a 
lonely  forest  pool.  Then  it  shivers.  Flashes  of 
fire  dart  from  side  to  side.  The  centre  bursts 
open  and  a  huge  fountain  of  lava  twenty  feet 
thick  and  fifty  high  streams  into  the  air  and 
plays  for  several  minutes,  waves  of  blinding  fire 
flowing  out  from  it,  dashing  against  the  sides 
until  the  black  rocks  are  starred  all  over  with 
bits  of  scarlet.  To  the  spectator  there  is, 
through  it  all,  no  sense  of  fear.  So  intense,  so 
tremendous  is  the  spectacle  that  silly  little  human 
feelings  find  no  place.  All  sensations  are  sub- 
merged in  a  sense  of  awe.  Nor  is  there  ever  a 
suggestion  of  weariness  when  sense  of  time  is  lost. 
The  guide's  quiet  warning  that  the  hour  ap- 
proaches midnight  is  an  unwelcome  shock,  but 
without  protest,  with  only  unexpressed  regret 
the  party  turns  away  a  few  steps  to  the  east- 


THE  VOLCANOES  199 

ward,  where  motors — strange  anomaly  among 
these  primeval  forces — are  waiting  at  the  end  of 
the  new  road  that  leads  up  the  low  southeastern 
bank  of  the  crater  and  so  back  to  the  Volcano 
House.  This  vision  of  the  earth-building  forces 
at  work  is  a  picture  so  overpowering  that  it  is 
burned  into  the  memory  for  all  time,  can  always 
be  recalled  in  every  detail  as  though  one  were 
standing  on  the  brink  of  Halemaumau. 

Not  always  has  Kilauea  been  what  it  is  now, 
an  enormous,  quiescent  crater  with  an  active  in- 
ner pit.  It  has  changed  in  character  with  the 
decades,  sometimes  with  the  seasons.  Its  own 
mountain  has  been  submerged  in  the  course  of 
centuries  by  the  masses  of  lava  which  have  been 
piled  against  its  western  slopes  by  volcanic  action 
from  Mauna  Loa.  The  vent  through  which  its 
fires  are  forced  is  far  below  the  surface  of  the 
sea.  Around  this  vent  have  been  built  layer 
after  layer  of  solid  lava,  each  layer  the  result 
of  a  new  eruption,  but  as  the  crater  above  the 
vent  has  been  pushed  higher  and  higher,  the 
weight  of  the  molten  column  has  become  propor- 
tionately greater  and  it  has  more  and  more  tended 
to  find  the  weak  places  in  the  surrounding  walls 
and  so  to  force  an  outlet  lower  down,  sometimes 
many  miles  distant  from  the  crater.  This  ac- 
counts for  the  innumerable  lava  flows  which  may 
be  seen  everywhere  on  the  sides  of  Mauna  Loa, 


200         HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

and  in  this  way,  for  centuries,  Kilauea  has  built 
its  mountain,  spreading  in  bulk  below  and  not 
overflowing  at  the  top.  How  long  this  process 
will  last,  when  the  weak  spots  in  the  walls  will 
have  been  made  solid  by  new  flows,  thus  forcing 
an  overflow  from  the  crater  itself,  is  a  problem 
to  which  there  is  no  answer.  The  only  violent 
eruption  actually  from  the  crater,  of  which  there 
is  authentic  record  or  even  legend,  is  that  which 
destroyed  the  enemies  of  Kamehameha  in  1789, 
and  this  came  after  the  Volcano  had  been,  appar- 
ently, completely  inactive  for  a  long  period  of 
years,  the  natural  vent  being  temporarily  sealed 
and  therefore  breaking  out  finally  in  an  eruption 
similar  in  kind  and  as  unexpected  as  the  eruption 
of  Vesuvius  which  destroyed  Pompeii.  Stones 
scattered  all  over  the  surrounding  country,  espe- 
cially to  the  south,  still  bear  witness  to  the  vio- 
lence of  the  outburst.  Nothing  of  the  kind  has 
since  occurred,  and  nothing  similar  can  occur  un- 
less the  molten  lava  in  Halemaumau  should  solid- 
ify, thus  closing  the  natural  outlet  for  the  forces 
beneath. 

The  first  white  man  to  write  of  Kilauea  was 
Mr.  Ellis,  who  visited  the  crater  in  1823,  and 
what  he  saw  was  very  diff^erent  from  what  one 
sees  to-day.  Evidently  the  whole  floor  of  the 
crater  was  active,  and  Mr.  Ellis  described  it  as 
follows :  "  The  southwest  and  northern  parts  of 


THE  VOLCANOES  201 

the  crater  were  one  vast  flood  of  liquid  fire, 
in  a  state  of  terrific  ebullition.  .  .  .  Fifty-one 
craters  of  varied  form  and  size  rose  like  so  many 
conical  islands  from  the  surface  of  the  burning 
lake.  Twenty-two  constantly  emitted  columns  of 
grey  smoke  or  pyramids  of  brilliant  flame,  and 
many  of  them  at  the  same  time  vomited  from  their 
ignited  mouths  streams  of  fluid  lava,  which  rolled 
in  blazing  torrents  down  their  black,  indented 
sides,  into  the  boiling  mass."  *  Since  that  time 
changes  have  been  rapid.  In  1832  the  floor  fell, 
making  the  crater  about  2,000  feet  deep.  In 
1840  the  whole  crater  was  again  in  a  state  of 
violent  action  until  the  lava  found  its  way  through 
unknown  channels  underground,  broke  out  eleven 
miles  from  the  coast,  and  flowed  into  the  sea,  thus 
draining  away  the  molten  mass  in  Kilauea.  In 
1848  a  lava  dome  was  formed  over  the  lake  of 
fire,  confined  then  within  what  seems  its  normal 
area — a  dome  so  high  that  it  overtopped  the  walls 
of  the  crater.  In  1868  all  signs  of  activity  dis- 
appeared, leaving  only  a  great,  fuming  cavity, 
but  three  years  later  the  fire  lake  was  again  full. 
In  1880  the  whole  floor  of  the  crater  rose  in  a 
fairly  regular  dome,  which  was  surmounted  by 
four  lakes  of  fire,  each  about  1,000  feet  in  diame- 
ter. In^  1886  all  fire  had  again  disappeared,  but 
soon  returned,  forming  other  lakes  and  debris 
♦EUis:  *' Tour  of  Hawaii.'* 


202         HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

cones  which  were  higher  than  the  outer  walls  of 
the  crater.*  There  came  a  time,  between  1900 
and  1907,  when  the  activity  was  very  slight,  and 
when  people  wondered  whether  Pele  had  died  with 
the  Monarchy,  but  during  the  last  few  years 
Kilauea  has  been  continuously  active.  There  is 
only  one  lake  of  fire,  to  be  sure,  which  rises  and 
falls  in  the  most  unexpected  manner,  sometimes 
draining  away  like  wheat  in  the  bottom  of  a  fun- 
nel, but  always  bubbling  back  in  a  few  days  or 
hours,  and  always  in  a  state  of  violent  and  fiery 
unrest.  What  changes  future  years  will  bring  is 
one  of  the  mysteries  which  make  the  Volcano  so 
fascinating.  Certainly  the  visitors'  register  at 
the  Volcano  House,  which  contains  detailed  ac- 
counts, often  with  drawings  of  occurrences  seen 
by  tourists  and  by  scientists  for  many  years  back, 
will  record  as  extraordinary  events  in  the  years 
to  come. 

An  observation  station,  under  the  auspices  of 
the  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology,  has 
recently  been  established  at  the  edge  of  Halemau- 

*In  1885  I  first  saw  the  Volcano.  The  long  horseback  trip 
— there  was  no  road— was  a  weary  ride  for  a  very  small  boy, 
but  the  amazing  impression  made  by  the  several  active  lakes  of 
molten  lava  remains  as  vivid  to-day  as  it  was  then.  I  remem- 
ber that  my  hat  fell  into  a  cone,  and  I  saw  it  turned  instantly 
into  the  ashen  semblance  of  a  hat.  I  wondered  whether  it 
would  still  be  there  when  I  went  to  the  Volcano  three  or  four 
years  later. 


THE  VOLCANOES    -  20S 

mau.  Dr.  F.  A.  Perrett,  in  charge  of  the  sta- 
tion, sends  most  interesting  weekly  bulletins  while 
he  is  at  the  Volcano  to  the  Hawaiian  Commercial 
Advertiser  in  Honolulu,  and  the  series  of  these 
bulletins  forms  a  valuable  and  practically  unique 
scientific  record  of  volcanic  phenomena.  The  tem- 
perature of  the  lava  has  been  found  by  experi- 
ment to  be  about  1,750°  Fahrenheit.  The  daily, 
almost  hourly,  observations  have  finally  proved 
much  that  was  formerly  only  suspected  about  con- 
ditions and  periods  of  activity.  The  floating 
islands  in  the  lake  have  been  studied,  and  it  was 
found  that  they  greatly  affected  the  lava  foun- 
tains. Even  the  most  regular  of  these — called, 
of  course,  "  Old  Faithful  " — became  very  uncer- 
tain in  its  action  when  an  island  moved  into  its 
vicinity,  probably  because  the  solid  mass  apprecia- 
bly cooled  and  therefore  thickened  the  fluid  lava. 
All  sorts  of  instruments  are  used  in  recording  the 
various  phases  of  action,  and  cameras  fix  any 
unusual  visible  manifestations.  The  reports  to 
be  published  by  the  scientists  in  charge  are  ex- 
pected to  be  illuminating  in  the  facts  which  they 
will  definitely  establish. 

The  new  road  into  the  crater,  which  follows 
the  eastern  bank  and  descends  a  long  spur  to 
within  a  hundred  yards  or  so  of  Halemaumau,  is 
familiarly  called  "  the  Road  to  Hell."  Certainly 
the  lake  of  molten  lava  fulfils  as  nearly  as  pos- 


204         HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

sible  all  standard  descriptions  of  that  tragic 
place.  One  is  tempted  to  believe  that  Dante  and 
Milton  and  the  rest  must  have  seen  this  or  some 
similar  volcano  to  make  their  details  so  realistic, 
so  true  to  volcanic  reality.  From  its  beginning, 
too,  the  new  road  suggests  the  pleasant,  sinuous 
charm  of  the  broad  way  which  does  not  lead  to 
Heaven.  Soon  after  leaving  the  hotel  it  plunges 
into  low  woods  and  winds  among  trees  and  clumps 
of  ferns,  giving  every  now  and  then  wonderful 
glimpses  of  the  crater  and  of  the  superb  mountain 
beyond.  Along  its  edges  grow  little  ohelo  bushes, 
spangled  with  their  refreshing  fruit,  the  taste  of 
blueberries  but  the  size  of  small  grapes,  canary 
yellow,  or  pink,  or  carmine  in  colour.  After 
about  a  mile  and  a  half  the  road  reaches  the 
brink  of  Kilaueaiki,  "  Little  Kilauea,"  a  small 
extinct  crater  about  half  a  mile  across  and  800 
feet  deep,  with  walls  that  are  very  precipitous, 
but  covered  with  shrubbery  and  ferns  and  with  a 
floor  similar  to  that  of  the  great  crater.  Its  sides 
are  lowest  toward  Kilauea,  with  which  it  seems 
almost  to  have  been  connected.  A  steep  path 
leads  down  to  the  floor,  a  path  almost  perpendicu- 
lar in  places,  but  interesting  and  to  be  rec- 
ommended for  good  climbers.  This  unexpected 
little  crater  is  very  beautiful,  in  looks  much  more 
what  one  would  expect  a  volcano  to  be  than  is 
Kilauea  itself.     The  road  then  circles  closely  the 


THE  VOLCANOES  205 

east  bank  of  Kilaueaiki  and  turns  westward 
through  sparse  growth  toward  the  great  crater. 
Before  reaching  the  long  spur  down  which  it  runs 
to  the  lake  of  fire,  however,  it  passes  another  in- 
teresting little  dead  crater,  Keanakakoe,  "  the 
cave  for  cutting  axes,"  only  about  400  feet  deep 
and  with  a  floor  jet-black  and  polished,  as  smooth 
as  the  floor  of  a  ballroom.  When  this  pit  ceased 
to  be  active  the  lava  must  have  been  at  intense 
heat  and  therefore  very  liquid,  so  that,  as  it  cooled, 
the  surface  was  left  without  a  ripple,  with  hardly 
a  crack — none  more  than  an  inch  wide — and  as 
hard  and  glassy  as  obsidian.  It  was  this  brittle, 
impermeable  rock,  found  also  in  the  crater  of  the 
same  name  at  the  summit  of  Mauna  Kea — that 
the  Hawaiians  used  to  make  into  weapons  and 
agricultural  implements.  Even  to-day  the  floor 
of  the  crater  is  strewn  with  half-finished  axes  and 
picks.  The  descent  into  Kilauea  is  easy,  and  the 
road  continues  across  the  hard  lava  floor  almost 
to  the  edge  of  Halemaumau. 

The  whole  vast  floor  of  Kilauea  is  well  worth 
exploring  by  daylight,  but  to  one  unaccustomed 
to  surface  indications  it  is  safer  to  take  a  guide, 
as  the  crust  in  places  is  thin,  and  to  break  through 
would  mean  serious  cuts  on  the  sharp  edges 
of  the  lava,  in  addition  to  the  possibility  of  dis- 
aster, since  one  can  never  be  sure  in  the  crater 
of  an  active  volcano  as  to  what  may  be  underneath 


«06        HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

any  particular  spot.  The  edges  of  the  floor  are 
interesting  where  the  molten  lava  has  piled  up 
against  the  sides  and  then,  cooling,  has  shrunk 
away,  looking  now  like  waves  which  have  frozen 
into  black  ice  on  a  beach.  There  are  curious 
cones  which  not  so  very  long  ago  spouted  out 
smoke  and  sparks  like  great  furnace  blow-pipes. 
There  are  deep  caves  which  can  be  explored  with 
lanterns,  tunnels  through  which  flowed  fiery 
streams  and  where  the  lava  cooled  in  fantastic 
forms — caves  which  can  be  entered  only  for  a 
certain  distance  since  the  heat  in  the  ends  toward 
Halemaumau  is  too  great  to  be  endured.  Some- 
times one  finds  masses  of  a  kind  of  greenish  lava 
foam  thrown  out  at  times  of  violent  eruptions,  a 
foam  made  of  innumerable  minute  cells  like  honey- 
comb and  as  light  as  sea-foam.  There  are  also  in 
places  wisps  of  "  Pele's  hair  "  caught  on  the  ragged 
edges  of  rock,  light  brown,  as  delicate  and  as 
brittle  as  spun  glass,  the  long  filaments  drawn 
from  the  drops  of  molten  lava  as  they  fell  from 
the  fountains  and  were  blown  away.  No  minerals 
are  to  be  found  except  sulphur,  and  even  this  is 
not  very  abundant  in  the  crater.  Near  the  top 
of  the  west  bank,  which  is  much  the  highest,  there 
are  olivine  crystals  in  the  lava  debris  caught  on 
the  ledges,  but  they  are  imperfect  and  hardly 
worth  searching  for.  One  thing  surely  to  re- 
member in  tramping  about  the  floor  of  the  crater 


THE  VOLCANOES  207 

is  not  to  get  to  leeward  of  the  burning  pit,  because 
there  the  sulphur  fumes  are  sometimes  almost 
overpowering.  Indeed,  it  is  probably  this  smoke, 
drifting  with  the  trade  wind  across  the  south 
bank  of  the  crater,  which  has  helped  to  make  the 
desert  of  Kau  so  utterly  barren  and  desolate. 
One  of  the  glories  of  the  whole  crater  in  the  sun- 
light is  its  colour.  The  lava  is  black,  yet  its 
polished  surface  is  iridescent,  sparkling  with  all 
the  colours  of  the  prism.  So  an  artist,  to  give 
the  real  impression,  uses,  instead  of  black,  his 
most  brilliant  colours. 

There  is  a  probability  that  all  the  land  in  the 
vicinity  of  Kilauea  will  be  made  into  a  national 
park  reserve,  an  act  which  Congress  should  surely 
pass,  since  no  other  area  of  fifty  square  miles 
within  the  boundaries  of  the  United  States  con- 
tains so  many  wonders.  Even  if  the  Volcano 
were  not  active  the  great  pit  and  the  interesting 
phenomena  of  the  surrounding  country  would 
offer  as  much  to  see  as  do  any  of  the  great  con- 
tinental national  parks.  Back  of  the  Volcano 
House  are  lovely  woods,  with  every  now  and  then 
an  open  glade  ringed  by  a  rank  growth  of  ferns 
and  of  vines  bearing  the  delicious  little  scarlet 
thimble-berries  which  grow  wild  all  through  the 
region.  A  few  miles  through  these  woods  leads 
one  to  a  splendid  koa  forest  and  to  the  mill  of 
the  Hawaiian  Mahogany  Lumber  Company,  where 


208         HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

the  koa  is  sawed  into  boards  and  shipped  away. 
The  trees  in  this  forest  are  very  old,  as  can  be 
seen  by  their  huge  knotted  trunks  and  their 
twisted  limbs.  They  would  look  like  ancient  oaks 
except  that  on  the  full-grown  trees  the  leaves  are 
chescent-shaped  and  polished,  and  on  the  younger 
shoots  lace-like,  as  are  the  leaves  of  the  mimosa. 
Near  here  are  the  tree-moulds  formed  by  some 
ancient  lava  flow.  The  molten  lava,  making  its 
way  through  the  forest,  surrounded  the  great 
trunks  of  the  trees,  burning  them  finally,  of 
course,  but  hardening  so  quickly  that  it  recorded 
faithfully  every  line  of  the  bark  before  the  tree 
was  turned  into  ashes.  Over  the  flow  new  growth 
has  started,  but  here  and  there  are  holes  in  the 
ground  as  round,  as  even,  as  delicately  chiselled 
as  though  they  were  casts  for  future  columns. 
Here,  too,  are  forests  of  tree  ferns,  finer  than 
any  to  be  seen  elsewhere,  except  in  the  jungle, 
because  they  are  quite  untouched.  With  a  guide 
it  is  possible  to  leave  the  beaten  trail  and  to 
wander  about  in  the  cool  shade  of  these  giant 
ferns,  treading  always  the  thick  carpet  of  moss; 
to  pull  from  the  bases  of  the  leaves  the  soft 
"  pulu,"  a  fine-spun  fibre  that  is  often  used  for 
making  mattresses.  This  is  by  far  the  most  thor- 
oughly tropical  growth  that  it  is  possible  to  see 
in  the  Islands  without  really  forsaking  the  normal 
routes,  without   really  getting  far  off^  into   un- 


THE  VOLCANOES  209 

visited    valleys     and    nearly    impenetrable     for- 
ests. 

A  delightful  day  on  horseback,  some  twenty- 
five  miles  of  rough  riding,  may  be  spent  in  a  visit 
to  the  Six  Craters  east  of  Kilauea.  First  to  be 
reached  are  The  Twins,  two  small  ancient  craters, 
not  very  deep,  quite  filled  now  with  vegetation, 
which  clambers  over  their  walls  and  reaches  up 
from  below  toward  the  freer  air  and  the  sunlight. 
On  the  floors  grow  trees  and  shrubbery,  so  that 
except  for  the  cup  shape  there  is  nothing  to  in- 
dicate volcanic  origin.  The  two  little  craters 
side  by  side  are  almost  identical.  Next  comes 
Puu  Huluhulu,  a  cone  crater  in  the  top  of  a  hill 
which  stands  boldly  in  the  sweep  of  the  upland 
plains.  A  clamber  up  its  steep  sides  rewards 
one  with  a  magnificent  view  of  all  the  surrounding 
country.  The  two  mountains  stand  out,  infinitely 
high  in  the  late  morning,  when  clouds  have  ringed 
around  their  lower  slopes,  so  that  one  is  more 
than  ever  impressed,  especially  with  the  nearer 
dome  of  Mauna  Loa,  by  far  the  highest  mountain 
of  its  kind  in  the  world,  and  certainly  the  most 
beautiful  in  contour.  Far  to  the  northwest  is 
the  higher  peak  of  Mauna  Kea,  but  in  mass  the 
mountain  does  not  compare  with  its  sister.  And 
to  east  and  south  is  the  opalescent  plain  of  the 
Pacific.  From  this  cone  crater  one  continues  a 
short  distance  to  the  Two  Orphans — the  loneliest, 


210         HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

most  neglected  of  little  craters.  They  are  in 
thick  woods  quite  close  to  each  other.  Nothing 
indicates  their  proximity.  Ferns  and  trees  mask 
the  approaches  to  them  on  every  side.  No  well- 
defined  rims,  no  outward  slope  from  them,  exist 
to  indicate  that  they  were  originally  cones — ■ 
quite  unexpectedly  the  ground  sinks  away,  leav- 
ing these  two  queer,  lost,  cup-shaped  depressions 
in  the  woods,  startling  because  they  are  there  at 
all,  giving  one  an  almost  uncanny  feeling.  Even 
dead  volcanoes  do  not  so  absolutely  hide  them- 
selves. Nothing  normal  in  nature  is  so  almost 
consciously  unobtrusive.  One  turns  away  as 
though  it  had  been  an  indiscretion  to  invade  that 
solitude.  The  woods  soon  become  sparser,  and 
the  great  plains  roll  onward  in  undulating  lines 
beyond  which  one  feels  the  sea.  A  low  growth 
just  obstructs  the  nearer  view.  It  is,  therefore, 
appalling  when  the  horses  stop  abruptly  at  the 
edge  of  Kamakaopuhi,  the  last  and  by  far  the 
most  wonderful  of  the  Six  Craters.  It  drops 
from  the  surface  of  the  plain  for  700  or  800  feet 
in  sheer  precipices.  There  a  ledge,  varying  in 
width,  gives  a  chance  for  trees  to  grow — trees 
that  look  like  the  toy  trees  of  a  child's  garden, 
so  far  below  are  they.  And  then,  in  the  centre, 
is  another  sheer  drop  of  1,200  or  1,300  feet,  at 
the  bottom  of  which  only  a  bit  of  the  crater  floor 
is  visible.     Far,  far  below  little  clouds  of  white 


THE  VOLCANOES  211 

steam  jet  from  the  sides  to  drift  upward  in  the 
still  air.  The  silence  is  amazing.  As  one  looks 
the  crater  grows  deeper  and  deeper  until  it  seems 
to  be  the  most  profound  chasm  in  the  earth's  crust. 
To  right  and  left  are  endless  plains;  beyond  the 
further  bank  the  same  plains  sweep  onward  to  the 
sea;  and  yet,  at  one's  feet,  one  looks  down  and 
down.  Perhaps  some  prehistoric  man  reversed 
the  idea  of  the  Tower  of  Babel,  and  instead  of 
trying  to  build  to  heaven  set  out  to  dig  a  passage- 
way to  hell — and  almost  succeeded,  as  the  little 
jets  of  steam  bear  witness.  The  Hawaiian  name, 
Kamakaopuhi,  "  The  Eye  of  the  Eel,"  has  its 
poetic  fitness,  whether  it  be  taken  literally  or,  as 
is  more  probable,  as  referring  to  some  long  since 
forgotten  eel  god.  It  is  like  a  black  eye,  this  vast 
pit,  staring  from  the  face  of  the  plain  into  the 
endless  sky. 

One  trip  into  the  crater  of  Kilauea  is  not 
enough.  Every  visitor  should  get  to  know  the 
lake  of  fire  as  well  by  day  as  by  night,  for,  as 
Dr.  Perrett  says,  although  it  is  more  spectacular 
by  night,  it  is  far  more  interesting  by  daylight, 
when  its  constant  changes  can  be  seen.  And 
when  in  addition  to  the  Volcano  there  are  so  many 
other  attractions  in  the  neighbourhood  a  week  is 
none  too  long  a  time  to  stay,  and  two  weeks  are 
exactly  twice  as  good  as  one. 

The  summit  crater  of  Mauna  Loa,  Mokuaweo- 


212         HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

weo,  is  smaller  than  Kilauea,  but  is  still  the  second 
largest  active  volcano  in  the  world.  This  crater, 
three  and  three-quarters  miles  long  by  one  and 
one-quarter  wide,  is  about  400  feet  deep.  When 
in  action  it  is  quite  as  spectacular  as  is  Kilauea, 
and  is  often  much  more  so,  but  as  its  activity 
occurs  only  at  irregular  intervals  of  several  years, 
the  man  who  happens  to  ascend  the  mountain  at 
just  the  right  time  is  very  fortunate.  In  1880 
a  man  was  alone  at  the  summit.  He  slept  in  a 
little  tent  at  the  edge  of  the  crater,  which  was 
as  usual  dark.  During  the  night  he  was  waked 
by  a  dazzling  light,  and  rushing  from  his  shelter 
saw  playing  in  the  centre  of  the  crater  a  jet  of 
lava  which  spouted  nearly  a  thousand  feet  into 
the  air.  The  top  of  this  fountain  was  visible  from 
the  shores  of  the  Island  and  from  the  ocean  for 
miles  around.  Such  an  experience  comes  to  but 
few  men,  and  the  long,  difficult  ascent  of  the  moun- 
tain, as  well  as  the  great  altitude,  will  always 
prevent  many  people  from  visiting  this  volcano 
even  during  its  rare  eruptions. 

As  a  general  rule  activity  in  this  summit  crater 
is  preliminary  to  a  lava  flow  which  breaks  out 
somewhere  along  the  sides  of  the  mountain.  The 
fluid  mass  finds  its  way  to  the  crater,  and  its  sub- 
sequent outbreak  lower  down  is  a  natural  enough 
phenomenon  when  one  considers  the  enormous 
weight  and  the  consequent  lateral  pressure  of  a 


THE  VOLCANOES  213 

column  of  liquid  lava  rising  nearly  14,000  feet 
above  sea  level  and  no  one  knows  from  how  far 
below.  The  only  extraordinary  thing  is  that  it 
does  not  more  quickly  find  some  weak  spot  in  the 
side  of  the  tube  and  break  through  long  before 
reaching  the  summit  crater.  Of  these  lava  flows 
there  have  been  eleven  during  the  last  century, 
nine  from  Mauna  Loa,  one  from  Hualalai,  and 
one  from  Kilauea.  Three  times  the  town  of  Hilo 
has  been  threatened,  the  lava  once  coming  within 
a  mile.  So  far  as  is  known,  however,  no  lives 
have  been  lost  in  any  of  these  flows.  The  lava 
breaks  out  far  up  on  the  uninhabited  slopes,  is 
very  liquid,  and  therefore  runs  fast  at  first,  but 
it  cools  rapidly,  banks  up,  and  has  to  break 
through  its  own  embankments,  so  that  by  the  time 
it  approaches  the  sea  it  advances  at  the  rate  of 
only  a  few  yards  each  day.  So  certain  is  this 
action  that  people  who  go  to  see  the  flows  camp 
directly  in  front  of  them,  moving  their  tents  only 
when  the  lava  gets  near  enough  to  be  uncomfort- 
ably warm.  In  the  rare  instances  when  flows  have 
reached  the  sea  anywhere  along  a  precipitous 
coast,  the  sight  from  boats,  of  the  molten  lava 
pouring  over  the  cliff^s  and  crashing  in  clouds  of 
steam  into  the  sea,  has  been  indescribably  im- 
pressive. 

Hawaii   is,   of  course,   still   in  the  process   of 
building.     Its  lavas  are  so  liquid,  so  thoroughly 


214         HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

fused,  however,  that  the  danger  of  explosive  vol- 
canic outbreaks  is  reduced  to  a  minimum.  A 
rancher  on  the  uplands  is  wise  to  take  account  of 
the  one  chance  in  a  million  and  build  his  house 
on  a  hill,  rather  than  in  a  depression,  so  that  no 
sudden  flow  can  overwhelm  him.  Any  man  own- 
ing an  upland  ranch  has  always  before  him  the 
unpleasant  possibility  of  waking  some  morning 
to  find  that  a  section  of  his  best  pasture  land  is 
being  buried  under  a  layer  of  hard,  sterile  rock, 
and  the  knowledge  that  in  anywhere  from  a  thou- 
sand to  ten  thousand  years  this  rock  will  have 
disintegrated  into  splendidly  fertile  soil  is  no  im- 
mediate consolation.  No  man,  on  the  contrary, 
ever  lives  in  fear  of  his  life  because  of  the  vol- 
canoes. The  people  who  live  in  the  hotels  near 
Kilauea  have  rightly  no  more  thought  of  danger 
than  have  those  who  live  in  hotels  on  the  Atlantic 
sea-board.  And  this  "  volcanic  safety,"  as  it 
might  be  called,  is  not  merely  the  result  of  long 
years  of  immunity.  It  is  corroborated  by  the 
highest  scientific  authority.  The  tourist,  there- 
fore, in  making  the  trip  to  Kilauea  need  think 
only  that  he  is  going  to  see  the  most  magnificent 
spectacle  which  the  world  affords,  that  he  is  to 
have  one  of  the  most  thrilling  experiences  of  his 
life,  with  no  more  personal  danger  than  he  would 
incur  in  a  railroad  trip  from  Boston  to  New 
York.     And  if  he  still  feels  that  the  goddess  of 


THE  VOLCANOES  215 

fire  should  be  propitiated,  let  him  follow  the  old 
Hawaiian  custom  of  throwing  a  few  ohelo  berries 
into  the  burning  lake  as  a  sacrifice  to  Pele.  Per- 
haps she  will  reward  him  by  forcing  upward  an 
extra  lava  fountain  that  will  spray  out  into  a 
great  bouquet  made  up  of  all  the  colours  of  all 
the  gorgeous  flowers  of  the  Orient, 


CHAPTER  XII 

-A 

ISLAND    LIFE 

People  work  in  Hawaii.  For  those  whose  lots 
are  cast  permanently  in  the  Islands  life  is  not 
what  it  appears  superficially  to  the  tourist,  one 
long,  happy  holiday.  Nor  is  there  here,  as  in 
so  many  tropical  countries,  a  three-hour  hiatus 
in  the  middle  of  the  day,  when  men  and  women 
take  their  siesta.  Hours  of  business  are  what 
they  are  in  New  York  or  Chicago,  and  life  is 
planned — too  completely,  perhaps — along  north- 
ern lines.  In  Honolulu  men  go  usually  to  their 
clubs  to  luncheon — the  Pacific,  the  University,  or 
the  City  Club — talk  business  and  hurry  back  to 
a  long  afternoon  in  their  offices.  These  clubs, 
it  is  fair  to  say,  are  delightfully  arranged  build- 
ings with  windows  on  all  sides  to  catch  any  breeze. 
Of  them  the  oldest  is  the  Pacific,  formerly  the 
British  Club,  on  Alakea  Street.  The  house  has 
broad  verandas  on  both  floors  and  large,  cool 
rooms.  The  University  Club,  more  especially  a 
resort  of  younger  men,  has  a  pretty  cottage  near 
the  Hawaiian  Hotel.  Its  membership  includes  a 
large  number  of  army  and  navy  officers,  gradu- 
ates of  West  Point  and  Annapolis,  as  well  as 
216 


ISLAND  LIFE  217 

men  from  American,  English,  and  German  Uni- 
versities. The  City  Club,  much  more  inclusive 
in  membership,  is  in  a  business  block  in  the  centre 
of  the  town.  There  are  also,  of  course,  as  in  all 
American  cities,  lodges  of  various  orders.  Masons, 
Odd  Fellows,  Elks,  and  Red  Men.  The  new 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  building,  on  the  corner  of  Hotel  and 
Alakea  Streets,  has  thoroughly  comfortable  quar- 
ters, and  serves  as  a  club  for  large  numbers  of 
the  floating  population. 

While  men  are  lunching  at  their  clubs  their 
wives  give  luncheon  parties  or  go  out  to  luncheons 
— a  form  of  social  entertainment  which  would  seem 
more  suited  to  a  cold  climate  than  to  tropical 
midday.  In  the  late  afternoon  the  Country  Club 
in  Nunauu  Valley,  or  the  Pacific  Tennis  Court 
near  the  Executive  Building,  or  the  various 
athletic  fields  and  the  bathing  beaches  at  Waikiki 
are  the  meeting  places  of  society.  At  night  there 
are  dinners,  dances,  and  bridge  parties ;  occasion- 
ally, and  much  more  amusing,  moonlight  surfing 
and  swimming  parties.  There  is  no  particular 
social  season  in  Honolulu.  More  people  are  out 
of  town  in  summer,  but,  on  the  other  hand,  that 
is  the  time  when  boys  are  at  home  with  their 
friends  from  American  colleges  and  they  must  be 
entertained  day  and  night.  This,  therefore,  is 
the  time  to  see  more  of  the  distinctively  Hawaiian 
forms    of    amusement.     Very    popular    are    the 


218         HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

"  luaus,"  real  Hawaiian  feasts  with  all  the  dishes 
cooked  in  the  ancient  way.  The  tables  are  spread 
with  fern  leaves  instead  of  with  linen.  Forks  and 
knives  and  spoons  should  have  no  place,  and  are 
only  tolerated  occasionally  because  the  younger 
generation  does  not  know  how  to  use  fingers  with 
the  dexterity  and  grace  of  its  eighteenth  century 
great-grandparents.  Poi  is,  of  course,  the  staple 
of  the  feast ;  poi  usually  served  in  individual  bowls, 
however,  instead  of  in  one  huge  calabash  into 
which  all  dip  their  fingers — this,  a  sop  to  modern 
ideas  of  hygiene.  /Real  training  is  necessary  to 
eat  this  paste  gracefully,  to  wind  it  around  the 
fingers  with  just  the  right  twist  and  in  just  the 
right  amount,  and  to  convey  it  from  bowl  to 
mouth  without  spilling.  There  are  fish,  wrapped 
in  sweet-smelling  ti  leaves  and  cooked  in  under- 
ground ovens,  and  sometimes  raw  fish,  to  the 
horror  of  the  uninitiated.  There  are  meats  of 
all  kinds,  also  baked  in  ti  leaves;  whole  pigs 
that  have  been  stuffed  with  hot  stones  and  allowed 
to  steam  for  hours  in  their  "imus,"  or  under- 
ground ovens.  Rarely,  now,  are  served  the  little, 
poi-fed  puppies,  which,  if  one  can  forget  what 
they  are,  taste  like  the  most  delicate  of  suckling 
pigs.  There  are  always  a  thick,  gritty,  strong- 
tasting  paste  made  of  pounded  kukui  nuts  and 
used  as  seasoning;  sweet  potatoes  and  yams; 
baked  bananas;  breadfruit;  a  pudding  made  of 


o 

o 


as 


ISLAND  LIFE  219 

sweet  potatoes  and  cocoanuts,  cloyingly  sweet  but 
very  good;  the  refreshing  milk  of  young  cocoa- 
nuts  to  drink.  The  Hawaiian  liquor,  made  from 
sugar-cane  or  from  the  ti  root,  is  a  fiery  liquid, 
almost  pure  alcohol.  Instead  of  it  punch  is  usu- 
ally served,  or  the  excellent  light  beer  made  in 
Honolulu,  beer  which  is  healthful  in  a  warm  cli- 
mate and  might  almost  be  called  a  national  drink. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  a  taste  for  most  of  these 
delicacies  must  be  the  result  of  childhood  experi- 
ence, or  must  be  carefully  cultivated,  but  once 
acquired,  it  is  a  taste  which  is  always  eager  to 
be  gratified.  The  "  malahini,"  or  newcomer,  who 
is  afraid  of  unknown  dishes  can  at  least  stay 
his  hunger  with  fruit;  oranges  and  bananas, 
alligator  pears  that  melt  in  the  mouth,  guavas, 
pomegranates,  perhaps  the  exquisitely  flavoured 
custard-apple,  and  other  tropical  fruits.^  But 
whether  he  goes  away  empty  or  full,  the  luau  will 
have  been  another  memorable  experience;  its 
green  tables  loaded  with  queer  food  wrapped  in 
queer  brown  bundles,  polished  calabashes  of 
grey-blue  or  pink  poi,  the  whole  dimly  lighted 
with  pale  golden  Chinese  lanterns  inscribed  with 
letters  of- scarlet,  or  brightly  lighted  with  flaming 
torches.  And  through  it  all  his  ears  will  have 
been  charmed  with  the  mournful,  poetic  notes  of 
Hawaiian  songs,  stealing  out  from  behind  the 
palm     trees — music     which     ends     always     with 


220         HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

"  Aloha-oe,"  that  lovely  song  of  farewell,  written 
by  the  Queen,  which  is  most  popular  of  all,  most 
characteristic  of  the  Hawaiian  temper. 
(  The  ancient  dances,  or  "  hulas,"  are  not  as 
often  seen,  both  because  the  art  of  dancing  is 
being  lost  and  because  many  of  the  dances,  in 
the  motions  which  make  them  up  and  in  the  words 
which  accompany  them,  are,  from  a  civilised 
point  of  view,  indecent.  Some  of  them  are  occa- 
sionally given  in  an  expurgated  form  at  the 
vaudeville  theatres  or  certain  selected  dances,  as 
entertainment  after  private  "  luaus,"  and  no  op- 
portunity to  see  them  should  be  neglected.  They 
are  often  marvellously  graceful — more  so  than 
are  the  Arab  dances — and  with  the  monotonous 
beat  of  their  musical  accompaniment  are  very 
poetical  and  quite  in  a  class  by  themselves.*  ) 

Of  good  theatres  the  Islands  are  destitute.  An 
occasional  series  of  mediocre  performances  at  the 
Opera  House  in  Honolulu  brings  out  the  whole 
population.  Of  interest  to  tourists  who  have 
never  been  in  the  Orient,  however,  there  are  the 
Chinese  and  Japanese  theatres  with  their  intermi- 
nably long  plays,  often  gorgeously  costumed  and, 
probably,  well  acted.  Nor  is  there,  naturally, 
much  opportunity  to  hear  good  professional  musi- 
cians,   although   passing   artists    of   note   usually 

*  An  excellent  scientific  study  of  the  Hula  has  recently  been 
published  by  Dr.  Emerson  of  Honolulu. 


ISLAND  LIFE  221 

give  concerts  during  their  short  stay  in  port. 
There  are,  of  course,  the  military  bands,  and  the 
Hawaiian  Band  gives  excellent  concerts  two  or 
three  times  a  week  in  the  public  parks.  This 
band,  organised  in  1874*  as  the  Royal  Hawaiian 
Band,  under  Mr.  Berger,  who  is  still  the  leader, 
is  one  of  the  best  in  existence,  and  has  won  many 
prizes  in  international  competitions.  Attached 
to  it  are  a  few  Hawaiian  singers  who  usually  take 
part  in  the  concerts.  For  the  tourist,  who  does 
not  go  to  the  tropics  to  see  the  latest  French 
plays  or  to  hear  Paderewski  play  the  piano,  this 
theatrical  and  musical  lack  will  not  be  annoying, 
but  to  residents  of  the  Islands  it  is  a  real  depriva- 
tion. 

In  Honolulu  the  Kilohana  Art  League,  with  its 
attractive  building  on  Beretania  Street,  is  the 
natural  art  centre.  It  has  good  exhibitions  of 
pictures  which  show  the  place  to  be  at  least  not 
destitute  of  artists.  One  of  them,  D.  H.  Hitch- 
cock, who  has  studied  abroad,  knows  how  to  paint 
well,  and  interprets  Island  scenery  and  character- 
istics in  a  really  masterly  way.  Some  of  his  vol- 
cano pictures,  always  reticent  in  colour,  yet  full 
of  the  splendour  and  mystery  of  the  crater,  sur- 
pass iany  pictures  of  the  kind  which  have  ever 
been  painted.  The  Art  League  has  also  its  liter- 
ary "  circle,"  and  directs  endeavours  for  the 
beautifying  of  the   city,  making  suggestions   as 


222         HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

to  the  planting  of  avenues  of  flowering  trees  and 
the  treatment  of  sidewalks  and  public  squares. 

For  the  women  of  the  place  housekeeping  is 
none  of  the  easiest.  Servants  are  all  Orientals, 
admirable  as  far  as  they  go,  but  with  inevitable 
limitations.  The  Chinese  are  faithful,  good  cooks, 
and  immaculately  clean  in  their  work.  They  are 
in  general  preferred  to  the  Japanese,  even  though 
during  the  Chinese  New  Year,  for  three  days 
in  January  or  February,  they  all  depart  on  their 
annual  holiday.  During  these  days  no  bribe 
could  make  them  work.  They  also  at  that  time 
have  the  habit  of  giving  to  the  families  for  whom 
they  work  expensive  and  usually  hideous  presents, 
which  must  be  prominently  displayed  for  months 
after.  An  amusing  part  of  the  Chinese  New 
Year  is  the  necessity  for  men  of  calling  on  all 
the  Chinese  merchants  of  their  acquaintance — 
ceremonial  calls  where  they  are  regaled  with 
queer,  cloying  sweetmeats  and  champagne.  The 
Japanese  are  filling  the  ranks  now  as  house-serv- 
ants, since  under  United  States  immigration  laws 
the  Chinese  population  is  gradually  dwindling. 
They  are  far  less  reliable,  but  are  often  excellent 
cooks,  and  Japanese  maids  in  their  bright  kimo- 
nos are  picturesque  about  the  house.  They  can 
be  taught  almost  anything,  and  once  taught  never 
forget,  but  unfortunately  the  knowledge  acquired 
is  often  of  the  parrot  variety.     For  example,  a 


ISLAND  LIFE  223 

lady  gave  a  luncheon  and,  before  the  guests 
arrived,  showed  her  new  Japanese  maid  exactly 
how  to  serve  each  course  and  what  plates  to  use. 
The  following  week  she  gave  another  luncheon, 
exactly  like  the  first,  but  omitting  one  course. 
Her  Japanese  maid  served  it  perfectly,  except 
that  when  the  time  arrived  for  the  course  which 
was  left  out  she  brought  in  all  the  plates  and 
then  carefully  removed  them,  empty.  The  ex- 
treme literalness  of  both  Japanese  and  Chinese  is 
also  often  disconcerting.  A  Chinese  cook  had 
recently  been  converted  to  Christianity.  Just  be- 
fore dinner  the  lady  of  the  house  asked  him 
whether  everything  had  come.  He  said  that  the 
salad  had  been  forgotten,  but  that,  as  he  had 
prayed  for  it,  he  was  sure  it  would  come  in  time. 
Such  incidents  as  these  make  one  realise  that 
perfect  civility  and  absolute  obedience  are  not 
the  only  requisites  of  an  ideal  servant. 
A.As  to  outdoor  sports  there  is  enough  to  satisfy 
the  keenest.  Aside  from  the  surf-riding,  the  bath- 
ing is  excellent  all  along  the  shores,  and  at 
Waikiki,  where  there  is  no  undertow,  where  the 
bottom  is  of  softest  sand,  where  the  waves  are 
never  large  enough  to  be  dangerous,  but  always 
to  give  motion  to  the  water,  it  is  ideal.  Two 
rival  boat  clubs  arrange  for  rowing  and  paddling 
races  in  Honolulu  harbour.  Sailboats  dot  the 
waters  of  Pearl  Harbour,  and  the  larger  yachts 


224         HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

cruise  about  outside.  At  the  Country  Club  there 
is  a  good  golf  course.  Everywhere  are  tennis 
courts.  At  all  times  of  the  year  there  are  base- 
ball and  football  games  to  watch.  Saddle  horses 
can  be  procured  at  any  of  the  stables,  and  most 
people  ride.  Perhaps  the  most  popular  sport  is 
polo,  and  at  Moanalua  can  be  seen  as  exciting 
matches  as  anywhere  on  the  continent.  Alto- 
gether it  is  a  climate  which  calls  one  into  the 
open,  and  everything  has  been  done  to  make  out- 
door life  attractive. 

As  to  dress,  people  get  along  with  just  about 
what  they  wear  in  northern  countries,  except  that 
white  linen  is  much  more  in  evidence.  Duck 
trousers  and  even  white  suits  are  worn  by  men 
at  all  times,  and  women  dress  as  much  as  possible 
in  muslins,  and  linen,  or  light  silk  suits.  Rain- 
coats are  essential,  since  at  any  time  a  trade  wind 
shower  may  drift  across  the  mountains — a  shower 
which  really  wets  so  little  that  one's  clothes  dry 
in  a  few  minutes  in  the  sunshine,  but  which  seems 
important  while  it  lasts. 

The  tourist  whose  main  object  is  to  buy — and 
there  are  many  such — will  find  Honolulu  most 
unsatisfactory  if  he  is  hunting  for  really  good 
things.  The  American  shops  are  much  like  those 
on  the  mainland  and  have  much  the  same  articles 
to  sell,  but  in  a  more  limited  selection.  The  Ori- 
ental shops  are  interesting,  but  have,  after  all, 


ISLAND  LIFE  225 

not  as  much  of  the  best  as  do  those  in  San  Fran- 
cisco. There  are,  of  course,  shops  which  sell 
Hawaiian  curiosities,  most  of  them  things  which 
few  people  except  "  curio "  hunters  would  care 
to  own.  Old  calabashes,  which  are  often  won- 
derful in  colour  and  texture,  are  becoming  hard 
to  find,  and  are,  therefore,  very  expensive.  Those 
which  were  formerly  the  property  of  chiefs  have 
a  slight  ridge  running  around  the  bowl,  a  ridge 
not  rpally  noticeable  to  sight,  but  only  to  the 
touch.  These  bowls  are  not  intrinsically  better 
than  others,  but  have  perhaps  a  slight  added  in- 
terest. Many  of  the  modern  calabashes,  less  ex- 
pensive because  not  laboriously  chipped  out  by 
hand,  but  turned  by  machinery,  are  beautiful  be- 
cause of  the  colour  of  the  koa,  or,  still  finer,  of 
the  rare  kou,  from  which  they  are  made.  It  is 
possible  to  find  koa  furniture  also,  but  this  is 
usually  unattractive  in  shape.  The  best  way  is 
to  have  chairs  or  tables  made  of  good  pieces  of 
the  wood  and  copied  from  old  models.  It  is  still 
possible  to  find  good  pieces  of  tapa,  in  different 
shades  of  rich  brown,  the  brighter  colours  usually 
coming  from  the  islands  of  the  South  Pacific. 
There  are  strings  of  tiny  white  Niihau  shells  and 
of  the  delicious  smelling  mokihana  berries  that 
keep  their  perfume  for  years.  Old  necklaces  of 
golden,  stained  walrus  ivory  are  very  rare  and 
very  expensive,  as  are  the  beautiful  yellow  feather 


226         HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

leis  of  which  the  ancient  royal  cloaks  and  helmets 
were  made.  Imitation  leis  of  dyed  feathers  are 
everywhere.  There  are  fans  of  all  kinds,  the 
lightest  made  of  woven  bamboo,  not  distinctively 
Hawaiian,  the  best  and  most  durable  of  cocoanut 
leaves.  There  are  all  sorts  of  mats,  the  finest 
made  of  the  Niihau  reed,  the  best  so  fine  that  they 
can  be  crushed  in  the  hand  as  though  made  of 
the  softest  wool.  But  most  of  these  things  are 
modem — Hawaii  has  no  great  ancient  art  which 
it  lies  in  the  province  of  the  enlightened  tourist 
to  discover.  There  are  no  pictures,  no  pieces 
of  wonderful  old  pottery  to  be  unearthed,  as  they 
were  a  few  years  ago  in  the  Orient,  because  such 
things  were  not  a  part  of  Hawaiian  life. 

Hawaii  is,  as  yet,  a  place  with  but  few  literary 
associations.  The  early  voyagers  touch  on  it. 
There  are  several  old  histories  of  the  Islands,  of 
which  that  by  Jarves,  now  very  rare,  is  probably 
the  best.  Books  of  travel  often  devote  to  them 
an  inaccurate  chapter  or  two.  Mark  Twain  has 
been  amusing  about  the  Islands,  as  he  has  about 
everything  else,  but  his  constitutional  spirit  of 
banter  did  not  prevent  him  from  being  deeply 
impressed  with  the  Hawaiian  charm.  Robert 
Louis  Stevenson  more  than  once  stayed  in  Hono- 
lulu for  several  months,  lay  in  his  hammock  under 
the  hao  trees  of  Waikiki,  smoked  his  cigarettes, 
talked,  and  wrote  a  little.     His  letters  tell  of  the 


ai 
as 


ISLAND  LIFE  227 

place,  and  he  laid  the  scene  of  one  rather  un- 
Hawaiian  story,  the  "  Bottle  Imp,"  in  Hawaii, 
and  it  was  to  a  good  old  "  missionary  "  citizen 
that  his  famous  letter  to  Dr.  Hyde  was  addressed. 
Pity  it  is  for  Hawaii  that  he  did  not  write  of  it 
as  he  did  of  Samoa.  His  step-daughter,  Mrs. 
Strong,  has  written  a  novel,  "  The  Girl  from 
Home,"  which  gives  a  good  picture  of  life  in 
Honolulu  before  the  American  occupation.  Very 
recently  a  belated  interest  is  being  taken  in  the 
poetical  legends  of  the  place,  and  valuable  as  well 
as  keenly  interesting  books  have  been  published, 
"Myths  and  Legends  of  Hawaii"  being  the 
most  complete.  The  Hawaiian  Annual^  published 
by  Thrum,  in  Honolulu,  prints  every  year  an 
English  translation  of  one  or  two  of  these  de- 
lightful old  legends.  Much  scientific  work  is  also 
being  done,  most  of  it  under  the  direct  guidance 
of  the  Bishop  Museum,  in  the  study  of  ancient 
Hawaiian  life  and  religion.  And  it  is  high  time 
that  this  work  should  be  accomplished,  since  the 
Hawaiian  race  is  rapidly  passing  and  the  older 
generations,  who  have  kept  traditions  pure,  are 
almost  gone.  All  is  important  and  most,  even 
to  the  layman,  is  interesting. 

There  has  been  no  poet  of  Hawaii.  No  ancient 
bard  stands  out  preeminent,  and  indeed,  most  of 
the  "  meles "  have  grown  up  through  natural 
accretion  through  the  centuries  and  are  rightly 


228         HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

anonymous.  These  songs,  too,  should  all  be 
translated,  although  no  translation  could  perpet- 
uate the  peculiar  rhythm  of  the  originals.  They 
are  full  of  repetitions,  many  of  them  epic  in 
interest  if  not  in  form,  yet  with  all  their  crudities 
they  contain  strains  of  real  poetry,  images  that 
linger  in  memory  because  of  their  vivid  simplicity, 
that  recall  the  early  poetical  speech  of  older 
lands.  And  to-day  there  is  much  to  touch  the 
imagination  of  a  poet,  should  one  arise.  Many 
of  the  printed  legends  are  poetry  in  all  but  form. 
Nature  in  its  most  sensuously  beautiful  aspects 
seeks  poetical  interpretation.  There  is  material 
for  many  a  solemn  poem  in  the  slow  tragedy  of 
the  dying,  lovable,  Hawaiian  people;  for  many  a 
gay  lyric  in  the  swish  of  the  waves  under  the 
prow  of  the  swift  canoes ;  of  expression  in  words 
of  the  sad,  passionate  music  that  sobs  on  moon- 
light nights  to  the  accompaniment  of  the  waves 
at  Waikiki.  But  the  po€t  of  Hawaii  is  still  to 
come. 

Because  of  this  lack  of  literature  there  is  no 
way  to  get  any  permanent  impression  of  the 
charm  of  Hawaii  except  by  a  visit.  Its  history 
one  can  read  and  can  appreciate  if  one  is  able 
to  adopt,  in  the  reading,  a  sympathetic  point  of 
view.  The  fact  that  thoroughly  American  ideals 
pervade  all  phases  of  Island  industry,  of  modes 
of  living,  and  of  social  intercourse  may  be  ac- 


ISLAND  LIFE  229 

cepted  and  theoretically  believed.  But  the 
Hawaiian  flavour,  with  which  these  ideals  are 
subtly  impregnated  and  that  insensibly  affects 
all  who  have  lived  there,  is  something  indescriba- 
ble, something  which  seems  to  emanate  from  the 
misty  hills,  the  whispering  waters,  the  exquisite 
vegetation,  the  low  voices  of  the  people.  All  this 
may  be  grasped  only  through  the  senses.  The 
eyes  must  see  from  the  shores  at  Waikiki  the 
bright  carpet  of  water  beyond  which  Diamond 
Head  so  proudly  stands  at  the  gateway  of  the 
world  beyond.  The  ears  must  catch  the  melody 
of  Hawaiian  song  and  the  swish  of  the  wind  in 
the  palms.  The  scent  of  stephanotis  and  plu- 
maria  and  ginger  must  strike  one  as  it  steals 
through  the  hibiscus  hedges  around  secluded  gar- 
dens. The  whole  body  must  respond  to  the  ten- 
der caress  of  trade  winds  that  have  blown  across 
a  thousand  miles  of  warm  ocean.  Only  this  is 
full  knowledge — and  the  sense  of  this  no  words 
can  convey. 

And  after  happy  weeks  there  comes  the  parting 
— ^the  good-byes  on  the  ship's  deck,  for  no  tourist 
stays  long  in  Honolulu  without  making  friends. 
Even  this  is  different  from  other  partings.  On 
the  dock  is  the  band,  playing  well-known  tunes 
and,  last  of  all,  "  Aloha-oe  " — the  last  "  aloha," 
the  most  familiar  of  Hawaiian  words,  which  means 
"  greeting  "   and   "  good-bye  "   and  "  love  "   and 


230         HAWAII  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

"  best  wishes  for  all  happiness,"  according  to  its 
intonation.  On  the  deck  the  departing  passengers 
are  covered  with  leis,  with  wreaths  of  flowers, 
one  or  two  from  every  friend — red  carnations,  yel- 
low ginger,  green,  sweet-smelling  "  maile  "  from 
the  mountains.  And  as  the  ship  pulls  slowly  away 
these  leis,  some  of  them,  are  thrown  back  to 
those  who  are  left  behind,  thrown  so  fast  that  the 
widening  space  of  water  is  almost  hidden  under 
fiery  streams  of  flowers.  The  crowd  grows  in- 
distinct, is  only  a  coloured  line  against  the  black 
background  of  warehouses.  As  the  ship  gains 
headway  the  hills  rise  once  more  behind  the  little 
city.  Once  more  there  is  the  beautiful  panorama 
of  gleaming,  multi-coloured  water  and  of  bright 
mountains  with  the  narrow  green  plain  between. 
Diamond  Head  draws  back,  and  as  the  ship  takes 
the  waves  of  the  open  Pacific  one  knows  that 
Hawaii,  with  all  its  loveliness,  its  stupendous 
mountains,  its  thrilling  volcanoes,  is  only  a  happy 
memory — a  place  to  love,  and  a  place  to  be  proud 
of  since  America  has  made  it  a  land  of  prosperity, 
and  happiness,  and  liberty. 


COPYRIGHT,  1Q03,  BY  DODD,  MEAD  &  COl 


APPENDIX 
I 

HOTHLS 

Oahu 
Honolulu : 

Alexander     Young     Hotel.        Bishop     Street. 

(E.  P.)     From  $1.50  per  day. 
Royal  Hawaiian  Hotel.    Hotel  Street.     (E.  P.) 

From  $1.00  per  day. 
Pleasanton  Hotel.     Wilder  Avenue.      (A.  P.) 

$2.50-$5.00  per  day. 
Moana  Hotel.    Waikiki.     (A.  P.)     From  $5.00 

per  day. 
Seaside  Hotel.    Waikiki.     (A.  P.)    From  $2.50 

per  day. 
In  Honolulu  there  are  many  boarding  houses 
suitable  for  a  long  stay. 

In  order  to  get  the  trade  winds,  rooms  facing 
the  mountains  should  be  secured  in  all  hotels. 

Waialua:  Haleiwa  Hotel.     (A.  P.)     $3.50-$4.00 
per  day. 

Hauula:  Hauula  Hotel  (on  line  of  Koolau  Rail- 
way).    (A.  P.)     $1.75  per  day. 
231 


232  APPENDIX 


Kavm 

Lihue:  Falrview  Hotel.     (A.  P.)    $3.00  per  day. 
Hanalei:  Deverill's  Hotel.     (A.  P.)     $3.00  per 

day. 
Waimea:  Bay  View  Hotel.     (A.  P.)     $2.50  per 

day. 

Mam 

Wailuku:  Maui  Hotel.     (A.  P.)    $3.00  per  day. 
Iao  Valley:  Kapaniwai  Hotel   (annex  to  Maui 

Hotel).     (A.  P.)     $3.00  per  day. 
Lahaina:  Pioneer  Hotel.      (A.   P.)     $2.50  per 

day. 

Hawaii 

HiLo:  Hilo  Hotel.     (A.  P.)     $5.00  per  day. 
Kilauea:  Volcano  House.     (A.  P.)     From  $5.00 

per  day. 

Comfortable  rooms  with  board  at  reasonable 
rates^also  at  Waiohinu,  Kailua,  Waimea,  Kohala, 
and  Laupahoehoe. 


Triage 

Automobile 

$  .25 

$  1.00 

.60 

1.00 

APPENDIX  233 

n 

Automobile  and  Careiage  Rates 

Oahu 

Honolulu  : 

Not  over  one  mile  . 
Not  over  two  miles  . 
Pali   and   return,   one   to 

four  passengers    .        .        5.00  7.00 

Around  northwest  end  of 
Island  (all  day),  one 
to  four  passengers       .  50.00 

each  additional     .         .  5.00 

Other  excursions  also  by  fixed  rate: 

Saddle  horse,  one-half  day  .  .  $  2.50 
Saddle  horse,  per  week  .  .  10.50 
A  mail  stage  leaves  the  Honolulu  Post  Office 
daily  at  9  a.m.,  running  to  Waikane  on  the  wind- 
ward side  of  the  Island,  twenty-one  miles,  and 
returning  the  same  evening.  Price,  $1.00  each 
way. 

Other  Islands 

There  are  fixed  prices  for  all  trips,  whether 
by  motor,  private  carriage,  or  stage.  Full  in- 
formation may  be  obtained  at  the  offices  of  the 


234  APPENDIX 

Hawaii   Promotion   Committee,  Young  Building, 
Honolulu. 


Ill 

A  Note  on  the  Hawaiian  Language 

The  Hawaiian  alphabet  contains  only  twelve 
letters,  five  vowels  and  seven  consonants:  a,  e,  i, 
o,  u,  h,  k,  1,  m,  n,  p,  and  w.  No  distinction  is 
made  between  the  sounds  k  and  t,  the  latter  being 
preferred  in  poetry,  nor  between  1  and  r,  which 
occurs  only  in  dialect  variations.  W  is  often 
pronounced  like  v  when  occurring  between  vowels. 

The  vowels  are  sounded  as  in  Italian,  that  is, 
a  as  in  father,  e  as  in  th^y,  i  as  in  machine,  o  as 
in  note,  u  as  oo  in  moon.  Each  vowel  is  dis- 
tinctly pronounced  except  in  the  case  of  the 
diphthongs,  ai  as  in  the  English  ejaculation  ay! 
and  au  as  in  the  English  word  loud.  Thus 
Kaaawa,  a  valley  on  the  windward  side  of  Oahu, 
is  Ka-a-a-va. 

The  accent  is  almost  always  on  the  penult,  as 
in  Ha-wai-i. 

There  are  very  few  words  in  the  language, 
every  one  being  forced  to  assume  different  mean- 
ings as  occasion  requires.  As  the  language  is 
highly  inflected,  however,  it  is  difficult  to  speak 
accurately,  and  with  the  general  introduction  of 


APPENDIX 


235 


English  even  the  natives  are  becoming  slovenly  in 
its  use. 

Certain  Hawaiian  words  have  come  into  com- 
mon usage  and  will  be  met  by  all  tourists.  These 
words  are  as  follows: 


Akamai,  clever. 

Lanai,  piazza. 

Aloha,  greeting,  love. 

Lei,  wreath. 

Aloha  oe,  farewell. 

Mahope,  by  and  by. 

Haole,  foreigner. 

Makai,  toward  the  sea. 

HeiaUy  native  temple. 

Mauka,      toward      the 

Hikie,  large  couch. 

mountains. 

Hula,  native  dance. 

Malahine,  stranger. 

Huhu,  angry. 

Mele,  Hawaiian  song. 

Kvlikuli,  keep  still. 

Maikai,  good. 

Kahuna,    native    priest 

Pali,  cliff. 

or   "  medicine   man." 

Pau,  finished. 

Kamaaina,  old-time  res- 

Pilikia, trouble  of  any 

ident. 

kind. 

Kamaka,     man     (often 

Poi,  native  taro  food. 

used  to  mean  the  na- 

Wikiwiki, hurry  up. 

tive  Hawaiian). 

Wahine,  woman. 

IV 

General 

Banks: — Among  the  principal  banks  in  Hono- 
lulu are  the  First  National,  Bank  of  Hawaii,  and 


^36  APPENDIX 

Bishop  &  Co.    There  are  reliable  banks  in  all  the 
larger  towns. 

Cable  Messages  : — The  rates  per  word  between 
Honolulu  and  San  Francisco  are  35  cents,  Manila 
85  cents,  Japan  96  cents,  China  $1.01.  The 
through  rate  to  Europe  is  84  cents  per  word. 
For  Eastern  cities  the  usual  overland  telegraph 
rates  must  be  added  to  the  cable  to  San  Fran- 
cisco. For  example,  12  cents  a  word  to  New 
York. 

There  is  wireless  service  between  the  different 
islands  and  with  passing  ships. 

Customs: — The  same  regulations  as  in  any 
United  States  port.  Passengers  leaving  Honolulu 
by  any  except  the  local  steamers  must  have  their 
hold  luggage  sealed  by  customs  officials  at  the 
dock  to  avoid  examination  in  San  Francisco. 

Post  Office: — Corner  Merchant  and  Bethel 
Streets,  Honolulu.  The  hours  correspond  to  those 
of  post  offices  on  the  mainland.  Postage  is  the 
same  as  to  any  other  part  of  the  United  States. 

Physicians: — There  are  competent  doctors  and 
nurses  in  all  the  more  important  towns,  and  hos- 
pital facilities  are  good. 

Shops  in  Honolulu: — Photographs:  Honolulu 
Photo  Supply  Company;  Gurray's ;  R.  H.  Per- 
kins.— Books  and  Stationery:  Crossroad's  Book 
Store;    Thrum's;    Arleigh's. — Curios:    Hawaiian 


APPENDIX  ^37 

and  South  Sea  Island  Curio  Company;  Island 
Curio  Company. — Japanese  and  Chinese  Goods: 
Japanese  Bazaar;  Sayagusa  Shoten;  Wing  Wo 
Tai  Company. 

Water  : — It  is  safe  to  drink  the  water  in  Hono- 
lulu, and  indeed  it  is  nowhere  dangerous  except  for 
those  who  find  change  of  water  harmful. 


INDEX  OF  PLACES 


Ahuiraanu,  122 

Akaka  Falls,  188 

Aleutian  Islands,  1 

Anahola,    137 

Aquarium,  Waikiki,  103-104 

Auckland,   1 

Barber's  Point,  113,  115 
Barking    Sands,    132 
Beretania  St.,  Honolulu,  92 
Bishop  Homestead,  98 
Bishop  Museum,  102 

Central  Union  Church,  Hon- 
olulu, 97 

City  Club,  216 

Cocoanut  Island,  167 

Cooke  Homestead,  Hono- 
lulu, 96 

Country  Club,  217,  224 

Court  House,  Honolulu,  95 

Diamond  Head,  61,  87,  113, 
128 

Eke  Crater,  152 

Emma  Square,  104 

Ewa  Plantation,  71,  115,  116 

Fort  Armstrong,  61 

Fort  de  Russy,  61 

Fort  Kamehameha,  60 

Fort  Ruger,  61 

Fort  Shafter,  61 

Fort  Street,  Honolulu,  92 

Green  Lake,  171 

Haena  Point,  140 
Haiku,  148,  160 


Haleiwa  Hotel,  117,  119 
Halemaumau,  196 
Hamakua,  186 
Hana,   159,  161 
Hanakapiai,  141 
Hanalei,   132,   137 
Hanapepe  Falls,  135 
Hanapepe  River,  139 
Hanapepe  Valley,  134 
Haupu  Ridge,  136 
Hawaii,   2,    21,   34,   36,    164 

et  seq. 
Hawaiian  Annual,  227 
Hawaiian  Commercial  Sugar 

Co.'s  Plantation,  150 
Hilo,  4,  57,  80,  166,  189 
Hilo  Boarding  School,  168 
Hoary   Head   Ridge,   136 
Honaunau,  178 
Honokaa,   185,   189 
Honokaa  Landing,  182 
Honokahau  Valley,  152 
Honolulu,  1,  4,  38,  45,  57,  58, 

64,  80-84 
Honolulu  Harbour,  89 
Honolulu  Iron  Works,  79 
Honolulu  Plantation,  71,  115 
Honomu,  188 
Honuapo,  175 
Hotel  St.,  Honolulu,  92 
Hualalai,  181 


lao  Valley,  151,  162 
Idlewilde,   154 


Kaawaloa,  179 
Kaenae  Valley,  160 
Kahoolawe  Island,  2,  16S 
Kahuku,  115,  119 


240 


INDEX  OF  PLACES 


Kahului,  57,  153,  161 
Kailua,  180,  188 
Kaimuki,  114,  128 
Kalaeha,  191 
Kalalau  Valley,  141 
Kaliuaa  Canon,  119 
Kamakaopuhi,  210 
Kamehameha  School,  99 
Kaneohe  Bay,  121 
Kapiolani  Park,  104 
Kapoho,  170 
Kau,   175 
Kau  Desert,  174 
Kauai,  2,  31,  57,  131  et  seq. 
Kauai  Electric  Station,  139 
Kauiki  Head,  161 
Kaumana  Cave,  168 
Kaunakakai,  145 
Kaupo  Gap,  161 
Kawaiahao  Church,  95 
Kawaiahao  Seminary,  99 
Kawaihae,  165,  182 
Kealakekua,  189 
Kealakekua  Bay,  32,  188 
Keanakahoe,  205 
Keanakola,  191 
Keauhou,  180 
Kekuaokalani,  179 
Kiholo,   182 
Kilauea,    34,    137,    169,    193 

et  seq. 
Kilauea  Plantation,  135 
Kilaueaiki,  204 
Kilohana  Art  League,  221 
Kilohana  Crater,  136 
King  St.,  Honolulu,  92 
Kipapa,    119 

Kohala,  95,  165,  183,  189 
Kohala  Range,  164,  184 
Koko  Head,  86,  124 
Koloa,  135 
Kona,  176 
Koolau,    128 

Koolau  Mountains,  86,  88 
Kualoa  Point,  121 
Kula,  161 


Lahaina,  148,  162 

Lahainaluna  Seminary,  149 

Laie,  119 

Lanai,  2,  124,  163 

Laupahoehoe,  187,  189 

Lawai,  135 

Leahi,  87 

Leper  Settlement,  146 

Lihue,  134,  136 

Little  Kilauea,  204 

Lumahai  Valley,  138 

Lunalilo,  24 

Lunalilo  House,  101 

McBride  Plantation,  135 

Mahukona,   165 

Makapuu  Point,  85,  125 

Makawao,  154,  161 

Makawele  Plantation,  134 

Makena,   161 

Mana,  191 

Manila,  1 

Manoa  Valley,  93,  99,   109, 

128 
Maui,     2,    34,     57,     147     et 

seq. 
Mauna  Kea,  164,  165,  190 
Mauna  Loa,  164,  174,  189 
Mid-Pacific   Institute,  99 
Mills  Institute,  100 
Moanalua,  114,  224 
Mokapu  Point,  121 
Mokuaweoweo,  212 
Mokuaweoweo  Crater,  190 
Molokai,   2,    14,   46,   65,   85, 

124,  144  et  seq. 
Mt.     Haleakala,     147,     155- 

158 
Mt.  Hualalai,  164,  181 
Mt.  Kaala,  86 
Mt.  Konahuanui,  110,  128 
Mt.  Olympus,  110 
Mt.  Puu  Kukui,  152 
Mt.  Tantalus,  113,  126 
Mt.  Waialeale,  131 


INDEX  OF  PLACES 


241 


Nahiku,  160 
Napali,   140-142 
Napoopoo,  179,  190 
Nawiliwili  Gulch,  136 
Niihau,  2,  31,  143 
Niu,  124 

Nuuanu  Ave.,  Honolulu,  92 
Nuuanu  Pali,  126,  128 
Nuuanu  Valley,  34,  92,  109, 
123,  127 

Oahu,  2,  31,  34,  36,  61,  62, 

85,  109  et  seq. 
Oahu  College,  100 
Oahu  Plantation,  115 
Okolele  Canon,  134 
Okolele  Ditch,   134 
Okolele  River,  139 
Ookala,  186 
Olaa  Plantation,  170 
Oluwalu  Plantation,  150 
Onomea,  188 
Onomea  Arch,  168 

Pacific  Club,  216 

Pacific  Heights,  126 

Pacific  Tennis  Court,  217 

Pahala,    189 

Pahala  Plantation,  175 

Paia,   153,   159 

Pali,  127 

Pali  Precipice,  111 

Palolo   Valley,   128 

Papaiko,    191 

Parkers'  Ranch,  190 

Pauoa  Valley,   126 

Pearl  Harbour,  47,58, 113,116 

Pelekunu  Valley,   145 

Philippine  Islands,  1 

Polihale,  133 

Puelo,  160 

Puna,  189 

Punahou,   100 

Punch  Bowl,  91,  113 

Puu  Huluhulu,  209 

Puukapele,  133 


Queen's  Hospital,  101 

Rainbow  Fall,  167 

Roman    Catholic    Cathedral, 

Honolulu,  97 
Royal  Hawaiian  Band,  221 
Royal  Hawaiian  Hotel,  93 
Royal  Palace,  Honolulu,  93 

St.   Andrew's  Cathedral,  97 

San  Franc 

Savaii,   18 

Schofield  Barracks,  61 

Six  Craters,  209 

Spouting  Horn,  135 

Sydney,   1 

Tantalus  Road,  126 
The  Twins,  209 
Thomas  Square,  45,  104 
Two  Orphans,  209 

Ulu  Falls,  184 
University  Club,  216 

Vancouver,  B.  C,  82 

Victoria,  B.  C,  1 

Volcano  House,  173,  189,  194 

Wahaula,  171 

Waiakea  River,  170 

Waialae,   114,   124 

Waialae  Bay,  86 

Waialua,  115 

Waianae,  115 

Waianae  Mountains,  86,  87, 

113,  129 
Waianae  Plantation,  117 
Waihee  Valley,  152 
WaikiKi,  23,  61,  87,  92,  114, 

226 
Waikoko  River,  138 
Wailua  Valley,  137,  145 
Wailuku,  150,  151,  153,  162 
Waimanalo  Pali,  124,  126 
Waimanu  Valley,  184 


242 


INDEX  OF  PLACES 


Waimea,  117,  132,  182,  188, 

189 
Waimea  Bay,  31 
Waimea  Gulch,  133 
Wainiha  Valley,  138,  140 
Waiohinu,  176,  188 


Waipio,  184 

Waipio  Valley,  166,  184 

Washington  Place,  108 

Yokohama,  1 

Young  Hotel,  Honolulu, 


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